


A Thousand Scars Betray Me

by AwakeAndAliveSpartan



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dreams, F/M, S2-4 don't exist, Stockholm Syndrome, changing the future, past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 65,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23994856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakeAndAliveSpartan/pseuds/AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: As Skye transitioned from the Framework to the real world, she found herself back in 2013, everything from those four years nothing more than a dream. Or was it a warning? She finds herself with a monumental challenge. Can she fix the past to change the future that made them all suffer?And how does that start with one Grant Ward?
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Grant Ward
Comments: 194
Kudos: 294





	1. Oh What's Another One?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of things to come.

(2013)

Skye’s eyes flew open as a violent coughing fit wracked her body. She remembered falling through the Framework portal to get out and then nothing. She struggled to get up, finding her body weak for some reason, a lancing pain in her abdomen. Her throat was sore, like she had swallowed sandpaper. But, her stomach fell as she realized her surroundings. This wasn’t the Zephyr. Nor did she see Elena anywhere.

Her mouth fell slightly open as she fully realized to where she was.

The Pod. 

Meaning, she was in the BUS. But, that couldn’t be right. The BUS blew up over two years ago. On that mission Grant had joined them on to save Lincoln and Mike. Her stomach flipped as she realized the lack of the familiar buzz underneath her skin. 

She didn’t have powers. 

Two and two started to come together and she lifted her gown up to see heavy gauze wrapped around her lower torso. She lightly touched it, remembering the star-shaped scars there. 

_ “No, this can’t be right…”  _ she thought.  _ “Was it… Was it all a dream? No… Four years can’t be a dream. I’m dreaming now, I have to be.”  _ She winced as a wave of pain shot through her abdomen,  _ “No… This is too real… Unless AIDA screwed us over again….”  _ She shook her head,  _ “No… Something seems different. It’s too close to what I remember. I-” _

“Skye!”

Skye’s stomach fell as she saw Simmons running into the room, a huge smile on her face, “Seems I was right about you waking up soon. Good thing I went ahead and took out the ventilator. You were starting to breathe well on your own, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt. That serum really did wonders on you!”

_ “The serum… This is after Quinn shot me.”  _ she thought.  _ “But how? I don’t think this is a dream. But, how did I dream up four years? Ward? Hydra? The Inhumans? Hive? AIDA? Something’s not right here. I don’t like it.” _

Simmons frowned as she noted Skye’s quietness, “Well, I shouldn’t expect you to be hopping on your feet!” she exclaimed. “You have been in a coma for a little over two weeks. It’s taken a lot out of you. I’m surprised that you look this well. I guess that serum was the trick. Coulson will be pleased, he was so worried after all. You wouldn’t believe the lengths he went to get it for you. He even got Ward’s old SO to come! He’s a little strange, but he did help us.” she explained. “He’ll be glad to know that you’re awake.”

Skye swallowed,  _ “Then that was still real. I… I think. I don’t know what’s going on. Garrett still wants the GH shit for himself, right?”  _ she asked herself.  _ “Then…. Then we don’t have much longer until Hydra? If that’s a thing. No, I’m going crazy. I was in a coma and dreamed all of that shit up. It’s not real…. Is it?” _

“Skye?”

Skye jerked up to see Simmons frowning at her. 

“Are you alright?”

She swallowed again, “Just… Just tired.” she mumbled. “Hurt.”

Simmons nodded, “Well, that’s expected.” she answered. “I’ll let you sleep some on your own. Naturally, of course. Then, I’ll come back to do a proper eval of you. But, don’t expect on getting out of here for a few more days. That serum might’ve performed a miracle, but that doesn’t mean you’re free to go.” She spun on her heels and left the Pod.

Skye let her head fall back onto the pillow. She turned her head to see that Simmons had left her a cup of water; probably placed there while she had been zoned out. But, she didn’t feel thirsty. She just wanted answers. 

Those four years. All that shit she and the others had gone through were all for naught? 

How had only two weeks passed when it felt like literal years to her? It didn’t make sense. 

But, there was no way that it had all been some crazy, fucked-up dream. She knew that it was real. It just had to be. She felt defenseless without her powers. Naked. 

But why dream all of that? Why would everything from Hydra to the Framework just be a product of her coma-induced mind? 

No, there was no way that she could’ve made all of that up.

Especially Grant’s betrayal.

That had hit her the hardest. She had let herself fall crazy for him, only to have him stab her in the back along with everyone else. But… She took a breath. She remembered the Grant the Framework had presented her. The one trained by Hand and  _ not  _ Garrett. The one that truly made her realize how Grant would’ve been if things just had been a little different. That he had been brainwashed and manipulated by Garrett.

If they had just realized before it was too late. Before he had become the monster that had fallen by Coulson’s hand.

She had been the only one to realize that. The only one to throw aside her hatred to see what had truly happened to him. But she had done so far too late.

Everything that had happened after the Vault was a consequence of their failures. Karma coming to bite them in the ass. Coulson’s-

A knock at the ‘door’ pulled her out of her thoughts. She shot up and thrusting a hand towards the figure, forgetting that she was powerless and that she was relying on instinct at this point.

“What the hell was that?”

She frowned as she realized that it was Grant standing there. Brief fear shot through her before she remembered that it wasn’t  _ that  _ Grant. The Grant that had turned sour. 

At least not yet.

“Would’ve been nice if you showed reflexes like that during training.” he stated, walking into the room. “Definitely need to work on that when you’re able to.”

Skye couldn’t find the words. She stared at him, unable to process anything. This was the ‘clean-cut’ Grant. Mr. Perfect SHIELD Agent. The one no one questioned. But, if what she had seen was true, that soon wouldn’t be the case. Things would soon fall apart in a matter of weeks. He would become the monster they all feared. Their own little scapegoat. 

“Skye?”

She was jerked out of her thoughts once again, “Huh?”

“Is Simmons sure that your head is okay?” he asked. “You’re spacing out a lot.”

She shook her head, “No, I’m fine. Just tired.”

Grant took a sharp breath and leaned against the wall of the Pod, “Take all the time you need. I’m not going to throw you back into training anytime soon. I’m not  _ that  _ cruel, believe it or not.” he stated. “It’s not every day when an alien serum brings you back from the dead.” There was something behind his eyes that she couldn’t quite decipher. But, she had a feeling of what he was thinking about.

Garrett.

“Aw, looks like you  _ do  _ have a heart.” she fake-teased, trying to keep up the facade. “Looks like you really do care.”

Grant’s face quickly grew his once-famous scowl, “Look, it’s common sense. You were shot and in a coma for two weeks. It doesn’t make sense to have you training right away. I’m just glad that you’re alive. You look better than you did.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Better than I did?”

His face fell, “Well, better than you did when you were, uh, dying.”

She pursed her lips, trying to figure to whether or not this was some kind of act. It wouldn’t be long before he showed himself. Before he killed Nash and shit hit the fan. Before Hand. 

But, if it was real, could she stop it? Could she somehow convince him that Garrett wasn’t his demented ‘savior’? She frowned, still not sure if the ‘dream’ was real. But, it had to be. It was far too vivid to be a simple dream. 

“Well,” she continued, faking a smile. “That’s quite a compliment.”

He muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t quite make out. “Well, rest up and I’ll have you training again as soon as possible. I think Coulson’s coming in soon. Simmons was yelling all over the place that you were awake. I think she only let me in here for now. She doesn’t want to crowd up the room or something.” He took a breath, “Guess I need to let Garrett know that you’re okay.” Something flashed in his eyes again, “He did a lot to help us get that serum. He’ll be more than glad to know that it works.”

_ “Ward, I still don’t understand. I know that you love me. I know that you know that Garrett ordered me shot.”  _ she thought.  _ “Why continue with this? How far ingrained are Garrett’s claws?” _

She looked away and didn’t say anything in response.

Grant swallowed and slowly nodded, “I’ll… I’ll leave you to rest, then.” He left the Pod without another word. 

Skye looked back to where he had been standing. Could she convince him of the monster that Garrett really was? Could she get him to see all the shit Garrett had done to fuck him over? 

Maybe the dream had been a warning of sorts. A warning of things to come if things weren’t changed for the better. She had to change things. She knew that’s what it meant.

Starting with Grant Ward. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, some notes with this. I have no idea of what happens in s5 and beyond. So I made things end at the Framework. Daisy is Skye here because Daisy doesn't exist yet. And I know that she wasn't comatose for that long, but I took some liberties to make the 'dream' make more sense. So, at this point everything from Yes, Men and beyond doesn't exist in this story. Things will start to change very soon. This is also a major rehash of an older fic that I did that went kind of awry (bonus points if you happen to know what it is). I hope that you enjoy! Please leave a comment or a kudos!


	2. A Saint and a Slave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye confronts Grant about the future.

(A Couple of Days Later)

Simmons let Skye out of the Pod a couple of days later, deciding that she was well enough to walk around. She was restricted, though. No missions until further notice and no training with Grant until Simmons determined that she was well enough to do so. Skye was glad, though; it gave her more than enough time to figure out what to do with Grant.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure of how to approach him. She knew that she didn’t have much time until Hydra rose up. A couple of weeks at the most. She figured that the best course of action was to directly confront him about it, but she knew that he wouldn’t tell the truth. He would most definitely deny her accusations since he was so wrapped around Garrett’s finger. She had already done some research and had some idea of what was going on with Grant other than the brainwashing. 

Stockholm syndrome.

Garrett had his hold so deep into Grant’s mind that Grant believed that he was his savior, that there was absolutely nothing wrong. She knew that it would be hard to get him to believe otherwise. Grant had been under Garrett’s thumb for 15 years. There was no telling to how deep Garrett had himself buried into Grant’s mind. 

It would have to take something major to break him out of that hold. And, truly, Skye didn’t think she had enough time to do so. 

She also had to approach things differently. She wasn’t sure if approaching him and telling him that she knew that he was Hydra was the best way to go. She hadn’t told anyone about the ‘dream’ yet and she knew that she would look like a complete nutcase if she went around talking about it.

But, she knew that it all had been real. She knew that it was some kind of warning for things to come. It was hard to believe that everything had stemmed from Grant but as she thought about it, it had all started to make sense.

There was also the problem of Hydra. Coulson would think that she was crazy if she went around saying that Hydra was about to rise up. And what would happen if Grant caught on to her suspicions and told Garrett? 

Truly, there was no one good way to go about this. She just had to jump headfirst into this and deal with the consequences later on.

Over the past couple of days, she had noticed Grant lurking around the Pod. If she didn’t know about Garrett, she would’ve thought he was just worried about her. But now that she knew the truth, it made her shudder. Yes, a part of Grant was most definitely worried about her, but it was highly likely that he was monitoring her for Garrett. 

Garrett probably didn’t want to use the serum without knowing how she turned out. It was funny how she knew the truth. That the serum would drive Garrett insane and almost drive Coulson over the edge. The only reason to why she was okay was the Kree blood running in her veins. 

But, she knew that Garrett wouldn’t stop until he got his hands on that serum. She shivered, remembering how Grant had kidnapped her to decrypt the hard drive. It was still hard to believe that he still cared for her after all the shit that he had pulled.

But, in the end, Garrett’s hold on him was stronger than anything else. Nothing would break that unless Garrett did something extreme. 

Skye sighed, looking at her tablet. She had an idea. It was risky, especially given how unstable Grant really was, but it could work. She could lay  _ everything  _ onto Grant. Telling him everything that had happened to her after Hydra could work. But it was risky, especially since Garrett was involved. 

She was far more worried about what Garrett would do than what Grant would do. Garrett was the true psychopath here. He was cruel, sadistic, far more than Grant had ever been. All Grant ever wanted was revenge, Garrett just did it just because. She also wasn’t sure of what would happen if Garrett found out she knew of future events. 

Honestly, that brought a small smile to her face. She was the true Clairvoyant here. She actually  _ knew  _ what the future would bring. She knew that she could change it. She still wasn’t sure to how she was the only one that was shown the future. A part of her believed that it had been the GH formula. Maybe as it healed her, it had shown her what would come if she didn’t change things. 

Skye didn’t know to how the future would change if she was successful. Would she still get her powers? She knew that she was still Inhuman, but without Grant taking her to her father, how would she come across Terrigen? Would more important things still take place, but in a completely different way?

She wasn’t sure, but that wasn’t her main thought right now. She wanted to change Grant before it was too late. Before Hydra could rise up and the damage had been done. She had a limited time window here, so she knew that she needed to get started now.

And now was today.

She quietly left her bunk and found Grant whacking away at the punching bag in the cargo hold. She was still getting used to the fact that she was back on the Bus, but she would make due. 

_ “It’s weird to think of what he’s done. How many people has he killed in Hydra’s, well, Garrett’s name at this point?”  _ she thought. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. Of course today was the one day he had chosen to workout  _ without  _ a shirt on.  _ “Grant’s been with Garrett for fifteen years, working with Hydra. How much blood is on his hands at this point? You really can’t blame it on him, can I , though? He sees it nothing more than following orders because of what Garrett’s drilled into his head.”  _ She watched as Grant’s back muscles rippled with each strike. 

_ “Everyone else is upstairs. I could drag him into the storage hold.”  _ she continued, looking away from Grant.  _ “But, I’ve got to be straightforward with him. I can’t mess this up. At all. A lot’s at stake here.” _

She had been too distracted by her thoughts to notice that Grant had stopped and was looking up at her with a frown.

“Skye, is there something wrong?”

Skye jerked herself out of her thoughts and look down to him, seeing that he had his arms crossed over his sweat-covered chest. “No, uh, just bored.” she started to make her way down the stairs towards him. She wondered if May’s training was still ingrained in her head. But, she knew that her body couldn’t keep up yet. 

She had the mind of a superspy trapped inside of a normal, unconditioned body.

Grant turned his back towards her, “Well, if you were hoping to get some training in, I won’t allow it. Give it another week.” he stated, heading to where he had thrown his shirt aside. He bent down to pick it up and slipped it back on. “But, that’s not why you’re here, isn’t it?”

Skye froze up as he turned back to face her, “Huh?”

“You been looking at me like you’re  _ scared  _ of me ever since you woke up.” he stated, his frown returning. “Is something wrong? You don’t have to keep everything from me. You can tell me what’s bothering you, I’m your SO, after all.”

She grimaced, knowing the irony behind that statement.

Taking a breath, she looked around before looking back to him. They were alone. It needed to stay that way, “Can we talk?” she asked. “In private?”

His frown deepened, “Skye, what’s going on?” he asked. He looked her up and down, noticing the different light in her eyes. He knew this wasn’t the same Skye that had gotten shot. Something had happened. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting weird ever since you woke up from that coma. Different.”

“Let’s just say that coma was an experience for me.” she stated, taking a step towards him. “It showed me the truth, Ward.”

His face grew taut, “What are you talking about, Skye?” he asked lowly, a completely different air surrounding him now. “You were comatose. What kind of ‘truth’ are you talking about?” He looked around, checking his surroundings, “Are you sure Simmons has checked you thoroughly?”

Skye took another step, shortening the distance between them. Her nerves started to scream at her, telling her that this was a bad idea. He was dangerous. A brainwashed assassin with years of blood on his hands. But, she wasn’t afraid of him. She had been through far worse dangers than him. She grimaced as Hive flashed in her mind and she imagined its parasites drifting from Grant and into her, but she stood her ground.

“I know.”

She watched Grant swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, “What?” he asked coldly, his voice almost a hiss. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Skye stared him straight in the eyes, knowing that it was now or never.

“I know about Garrett. I know what he does to you, Grant.” she stated, his voice low. “I know what he’s turned you into.”

Grant’s face drained of color, briefly losing his composure, “I don’t know what the hell you are talking about, Skye.” he growled, pushing past her. “John’s never done anything to me.”

“I know about Hydra, Grant.”

He paused and spun around, fire flaring in his eyes before he steadied himself, acting like it didn’t affect him. But, he remained silent, an unseen force bolting him in place. 

She took a step, ignoring the predatory look that had appeared in his eyes. Everything in her body was screaming at her to run, but there’s no way that she could now. She had him right where she wanted him. 

“I know that you’re Hydra, Grant. Garrett, too. And I know that everything’s about to go to shit because of you. Because of  _ us _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I went ahead and jumped into the meat of this. I don't intend on this fic being all that long, so that's why I had Skye go ahead and confront Grant. Also, I have an idea of how to keep the rest of S1 similar to the original events, so that's to come. Any guesses of what's to happen? And thank you for all the reception on the first chapter! I didn't think it would hit off like this! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	3. Invent Your Mission, Believe Your Fiction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye confronts Grant about the future.

Grant glared at her, fire still burning in his eyes, before his mask fell back into place. His mouth grew tight as he stared right at her, “ _ Hydra _ ?” he asked, disbelief in his voice. “What the hell are you talking about, Skye? Hydra’s been dead for years.” He blinked, “Is Simmons sure that that serum didn’t do some kind of damage to you?”

“I know what I saw, Grant.” she stated, holding her ground. “I think that coma, the serum, showed me a future that happens if you continue on like this.”

He cocked his head, a predatory light returning in his eyes, “Like  _ what _ ?”

“I know that Garrett had you placed on this team to spy on Coulson, to figure out to why he came back from the dead. I know that Garrett’s dying. That implant in his side? It’s failing and he’ll be dead soon if you don’t figure out to why Coulson’s alive.” she explained, keeping herself cool and calm. “Hydra will rise up soon and you’ll abandon us for Garrett.”

Grant clenched his jaw. He hadn’t been trained to deal with something like  _ this _ . “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” he stated. “I was chosen for this team by Coulson. Not by Garrett. Garrett’s just my SO, nothing more.” He studied her once more, “I think that serum did some serious damage to you. You had a nightmare, Skye. It wasn’t real.”

“And how do I dream up four fucking years, Ward?!”

His face grew taut again, “You were in a coma. Your brain was just compensating for being comatose.” he stated coldly. “You can’t go around making accusations like this, Skye. Someone’s going to get hurt.”

“Yeah, plenty of us if you don’t stop this.”

A shake started to take hold of his body. Skye could tell that the Berserker rage was bubbling back up. She was hitting home with him and it was leaving a mark. That’s how she knew the future she had seen was real. Her words were affecting Grant. 

“And what is ‘this’ exactly?” he asked, his voice strained, like he was about to snap. “What am I about to do?”

“You leave us for Garrett. You kill Hand. In an attempt to ‘save’ Fitzsimmons from Garrett, you almost kill them and leave Fitz with brain damage.” She winced at that part, she knew that he had really been trying to save them. But, she had to get under his skin. “You kidnap me. You try to kill May. You spend 6 months locked up in our basement, only to break out and try to kill more of us later on. Then you lead a fraction of Hydra, which ends in your death and gets you possessed by an alien.”

Grant’s face fell, “That’s some dream, Skye.” he stated matter-of-factly. “And those are some pretty big accusations.” He turned his back to her, “But, I would never do such a thing. My loyalty is to SHIELD and SHIELD alone, everyone here knows that.” He started to walk away.

“Garrett’s brainwashed you, Grant.”

Grant spun around and glared at her. Hard. Clearly that hit a mark. He remained silent, though, staring at her like she was his prey. 

“I know what Garrett’s done to you. I know that he beats you when you do something that he doesn’t like. I know that he pulled you out of juvie at 15 and threw you into the woods to fend for yourself. I know that he conditioned you to the point you don’t even realize what he’s done to you, Grant.” she explained, she took a step towards him. A step she would soon learn to regret.

“He’s brainwashed and conditioned you for fifteen years.” she continued. “He’s turned you into his own little weapon and you haven’t even realized it. You think he saved you from your childhood, but he only pulled you into a deeper hell. He-”

Skye was cut off as Grant suddenly slammed her into the stairs behind her, the metal clanging as she hit it, the air being knocked out of her. “You do  _ not  _ make accusations like that about John!” he hissed, his eyes dark with anger. “You don’t understand what he’s done for me, Skye. He would never hurt me like that. He wouldn’t….” He trailed off and stepped away from her, his face falling as a thought floated through his mind, “He wouldn’t….” He held his side, which was still sore.

From a punch from Garrett.

All because he hadn’t been able to retrieve another vial of the GH formula.

He shook his head and snarled, “John would  _ never _ hurt me.” he hissed again, his voice unsure. “You need to think twice before making accusations like that. That serum’s got you fucked up in the head, Skye. You dreamed all of that up.”

He quickly retreated up the stairs, leaving Skye by herself in the cargo hold.

She swallowed and rubbed her back where the stairs had hit her. She hadn’t expected Grant to react so violently. She thought he would just continue to deny her, not react in pure violence. That confirmed that she was right, though. He was so desperate to keep defending Garrett, keep believing the lie that Garrett had created, he lashed out. 

But, when he had pulled away from her and it looked like he had gotten lost in his thoughts…. Had she gotten through to him somehow? Just a little bit? It seemed to her that he had realized something by the way he had touched his side. The very side that she now just remembered was covered in a nasty-looking bruise.

Had that been Garrett’s doing?

But, she hadn’t expected him to react so violently. She knew that she couldn’t reapproach him any time soon. Or would he just shrug all of it off and act like nothing ever happened to avoid arousing suspicion? Grant was good, but she knew that he couldn’t fake nothing being wrong. Especially after that. 

A part of her felt like she had accidentally set things into motion. That she needed to keep an eye on Grant for the time being. His rabid defense of Garrett had probably turned him against her for now. 

But, truly, she was unaware of what she had just caused. 

Of the new future she had unwillingly set into motion. 

The new future she had to change before it was too late.

* * *

(Sometime Later, Deep in the Storage Hold)

“I’m being serious, John! She knows! It may seem like some crazy fucking dream to you, but she was spot on to why I’m here.”

_ “But, you’re saying she somehow experienced four years while being in a coma for two weeks? Sounds a little far-fetched to me, son.” _

Grant tightened his grip around the burner phone, “What makes you think that I would make any of that up? How the hell would she know to why I’m really here?” he asked, his voice tight. “She was spot-on. We don’t know what that serum is yet. And we weren’t able to get our own sample because it had to be used on Skye. It’s not too far-fetched. There’s no telling to what it did to her.”

Garrett took a sharp breath on the other line and let out a laugh,  _ “So you’re saying that’s she’s clairvoyant or something? How fucking ironic is that?” _

“Clairvoyant or not, John, I’m at risk here. She knows about us and she knows about Hydra. And Skye’s not one to keep her mouth shut. She’ll tell someone sooner or later.” Grant explained. He had left out the details of the future, only telling Garrett that Skye knew their plans. He also didn’t mention what Skye had accused Garrett of.

Something sat heavy in his stomach. Could Skye be right? Had all Garrett done these past fifteen years was just hurt him? No, that couldn’t be right. Garrett had pulled him out of the hell that was his childhood and made him a stronger man. There was no way that it all had just been abuse. Not John, he believed. No, Skye was making all of this up to get under his skin. She had found out about them some other way and was making things up to destroy everything he and Garrett had built. That was it. Skye was lying to him. He had already convinced himself of that false truth.

_ “Fine.”  _ Garrett stated, his voice low.  _ “I’ll pull you out of there until we figure out what the hell’s going on. But, if that serum really caused that bitch to see the future, that’s worth looking into. I’ll call Flowers in and see what she thinks.” _

Grant grimaced, knowing what Garrett was implying. Bring Skye in. But, if the serum in her blood could save Garrett, it would be worth it. It would definitely take some doing, though. Especially since Skye knew what Garrett wanted. She knew Garrett’s weakness. 

“Fine. How soon can you pull me out of here?”

_ “Tomorrow at the soonest. I’ll have to spin some shit to Coulson about needing you for a ‘personal mission’ or something. I’ll leave Triplett there in your place. He doesn’t know what I want. He won’t even realize he’s giving me information when he contacts me. But, if that bitch really knows about us, you do need to get out of there.” _

“I would prefer it if you would stop calling her a bitch, John.”

Garrett laughed,  _ “I can call her whatever the hell I want, son. Especially since she’s figured us out. I’ll send a jet for you, leave Triplett there, and you meet me at the Havana base.”  _ he explained.  _ “And we’ll go from there. Looks like we’ll have to push up our plan window by a good bit. I’m not waiting for Hydra to make their move. And besides, this isn’t about Hydra, it’s about me, right? I literally don’t have the time to be waiting around for them. We move now, Grant.” _

“But,”

_ “No buts.”  _ Garrett growled.  _ “I know you wanna protect that girl, but I’m far more important to you, right? Remember who saved you. She’ll rat you out to save herself. Throw away whatever ties you have with her. No hesitations.” _

Garrett briskly ended the call.

Grant swallowed, staring down at the burner phone. Had he made the right move? He knew that Skye would put both him and Garrett in danger if she told Coulson; that he needed to get out of there as soon as possible. But, could he really give her up like that? Turn her over to Raina for dissection? 

No, he told himself. It was worth it. As long as John survived, anything would be worth it. He was ready to make whatever sacrifice he needed to make in order to save him. 

But, Skye’s words still dug in the back of his mind. Had Garrett been hurting him this entire time and he didn’t realize it? He gingerly touched the bruise on his side. He had himself convinced that the violence was just punishment, motivation for him to be ‘better’, to not slip up again. 

But, still, he told himself that Skye was wrong. That she was just playing him. Garrett would  _ never  _ do such a thing. He owed the man the entire world and he was willing to do whatever it took to save him. To burn SHIELD down for their failures against his SO.

And Skye was completely unaware that she had unintentionally set things into motion. 

She had caused Grant’s betrayal all because he was blind to who Garrett really was. 

And it would all come back to bite her in the ass soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we're already getting into the meat of things. I will warn you, though. Grant's not going to be a nice guy for a while. He's also not going to be seen for a few chapters. He's going through things. He's desperately trying to still believe that Garrett's his savior, even though Skye's words started to tear that down. He will be unstable as his world falls apart. He'll be violent some, cruel even. It just shows how deep of a hold Garrett has on him. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	4. The Fear is Near, It Starts to Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finds out the consequence of her confrontation with Grant.

(Later the Next Day)

Skye hadn’t seen Grant since their confrontation the day before. She didn’t understand how the man could hide himself on a plane, but he did. She just figured that he was just avoiding her, but something was rubbing her the wrong way. She didn’t like this silence. 

Something just felt  _ wrong _ . 

Triplett had rejoined them out of nowhere that morning. Something about Garrett wanting him to get more experience around the team and such. She didn’t buy it. Even if she knew that Triplett was completely good and unaware of who Garrett really was, it still felt like a red herring to her.

Something was wrong, really wrong.

She decided to approach Coulson about it, hoping that he knew.

She took a sharp breath and knocked on the doorframe of his office, “Can we talk?”

Coulson looked up and gave her a small smile, waving her in, “Is everything okay?” he asked as she came in. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. But, it’s not about me. It’s about Ward.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “What about him?”

“I haven’t seen him since yesterday.” she stated, leaving out the fact that they had fought. “Where is he?”

“He didn’t tell you?” Coulson asked. “He left this morning. Garrett needed him for something. Triplett’s his temporary replacement until he comes back.”

It felt like Skye had been punched in the stomach.

“He  _ left _ ?”

This wasn’t good. She didn’t expect this to happen. She knew that he had probably told Garrett about what she had said. That he expected to be ratted out soon. He fled to the ‘safety’ of Garrett. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this.

“It’s a little weird that he didn’t tell you, considering he’s your SO.”

“This isn’t good, Coulson! This wasn’t supposed to happen!” she yelled, fear bubbling up. “I just made it worse!”

Coulson stood to his feet, “What the hell are you going on about, Skye?” he asked, worry in his voice. “What did you make worse?”

Skye swallowed, “I didn’t tell you what happened in that coma.” she stated lowly. “It showed me the future and I’m trying to change it.”

Coulson’s face fell and he wasn’t sure of what to say. “The future?” he asked, not believing it. “Skye…”

“I think that serum did something. It made me live through 4 years that now doesn’t exist. I think it was a warning of what’s to come.”

“A warning of what?”

“If we don’t stop Grant, if we don’t pull him away from Garrett soon, everything will go to hell.” she warned, looking back towards the door. She looked back to Coulson, who just seemed to be confused out of his mind. “Grant left because of me. I think I somehow made things worse.”

Coulson came from around the desk, “Whoah.” he stated, holding his hands up. “Let’s go back to the start, Skye. What do you mean the serum made you live through 4 years?”

Skye swallowed, “I don’t understand it either, but I did. It was one big and vivid dream or something. It felt so real. Things went to utter shit and it starts with Ward.” she answered. “Things go bad, Coulson. If we don’t get Ward away from Garrett, people will die.”

Coulson took a sharp breath and ran his hands through his hair. Skye still wasn’t used to seeing him with two human hands. “So, let me get this straight. You had some crazy, coma-induced dream you think is some kind of ‘warning’ of things to come. You think these things start with Ward and Garrett. Skye, I don’t understand. Ward’s not…. Ward’s not a bad guy.”

“In a way, he is. He… He just doesn’t realize it.”

“Skye, that doesn’t-”

“They’re Hydra, Coulson.”

Coulson’s face immediately fell and he looked sick, “What?”

Skye shook her head, “Ward and Garrett. They’re both Hydra. Well, technically. Garrett’s only allied himself with them for personal gain. Grant’s only Hydra by default because of Garrett.” she explained. 

“Skye, Hydra’s been gone for years. They ended when Steve Rodgers killed the Red Skull.”

“No, that’s what they wanted you to think. They buried themselves into the fledgling SHIELD, infiltrating their ranks until today. SHIELD’s crawling with Hydra rats, Coulson. And we only have a matter of time before they rise up and destroy everything.”

Coulson didn’t know of what to say. This was a pretty big accusation. If it were true, it would cause chaos. “And… And you say this starts with Ward.”

“On our end, yes. SHIELD arrests Garrett and Grant goes with him to see him to the Fridge. But, in reality he’s just there to kill Hand and break Garrett free. And-”

Coulson cut her off with a hand, “Wait, you say that Ward  _ kills  _ Hand? As in Victoria Hand?” he asked, still not believing it. “Skye, this… None of this makes sense.”

“It doesn’t to me, either!” she exclaimed. “But, I know it’s real. I think the serum did something to me, showing me that future so I could change it! I already confronted Grant about it. About what Garrett’s done to him. I… That’s why he left, Coulson.” She took a sharp breath, “Grant left because he had been found out. That means what I saw is the truth.”

Coulson narrowed his eyes, about ready to send Skye for psych evaluation, “And what’s John done to Ward?” he asked. “I’ve known him for years. Surely, I would’ve known if he was doing something to him.”

“Grant’s known Garrett for fifteen years, Coulson.” 

“No… That can’t be. Ward didn’t meet John until he was in the Academy. When he was twenty. Fifteen years would make him 15 when he met him.”

Skye nodded, “Exactly.” She went off into what she knew of Grant and Garrett’s relationship. About Garrett’s chronic abuse of the man. About how Garrett had conditioned Grant into the perfect weapon. She watched as Coulson grew paler and paler. She knew a part of him knew that there was no way she was making any of this up.

“Coulson, things get bad if we let this happen.” she continued. “I wouldn’t even know of where to begin.”

Coulson nodded slowly, “Assuming what you say about Garrett and Ward is true, where does it lead us if Ward is allowed to stay on this path?” he asked. “You say he’s already betrayed us by leaving for Garrett. So, it’s possible that Garrett knows of this ‘future’. And if you’re correct of how he really is, then Ward’s in trouble. You’re in trouble, Skye. You’re accusing him of something very serious and he’ll want you quiet about that. He’ll want that serum that’s in your veins.”

He took a breath, his head still trying to wrap itself around things. Around the possibility that his friend was the devil on Earth. Yes, Garrett was always questionable with his morals, but not like this. “What… What does this future entail, Skye?”

“Can we gather a team meeting?” she asked. “I’d rather not have to explain it twice. It’s four years worth of shit. I don’t wanna have to remember it again and again.”

Coulson ran a hand over his face, “Fine.” he stated. “We’ll do this now. Skye…” He looked right at her, “We need to tell Fury. At least Hand since she’s directly in danger from this. If Hydra’s really been right under our noses this entire time, we need to stop it now.”

“Hand is probably our best bet. She won’t believe us at first. But… I think she’ll come to. She’s on SHIELD’s side and probably the easiest to get to. But, the others need to know of what’ll happen if we don’t change things. Coulson, Grant’s not the bad guy. I don’t think he truly ever was in that future. He suffered because of Garrett and we failed him, creating an even bigger monster out of him. I think we can change him if we can just convince him that Garrett’s not his savior or whatever the hell it is he believes.”

Coulson walked in front of her, only stopping briefly, “I just hope you’re right, Skye, and we’re not crying wolf.” He left the room to gather the others.

She followed suit, finding Coulson gathering everyone and telling them to meet in the Holocom room. Everyone was confused to why, especially given the sudden switch from Grant to Triplett. Skye steadied herself, knowing that recalling the future would be painful. Especially since Triplett was still alive here. It was still like she was looking at a ghost. 

“What’s this about?” Fitz asked as they stood around the table. “Something wrong?”

“Skye has something to tell us. I’m not sure if you are all going to believe it or not, but just hear her out. It holds some credibility.” Coulson stated, looking at Skye. “Skye believes that she was shown the future while comatose. That the serum somehow made her live through 4 years of hell as some kind of warning of what’s to come. I’ll let her explain it before you make any judgements.”

Everyone looked at Skye like she was crazy, which she expected, but they remained silent.

“So… Yeah, I think that serum showed me the future. At least  _ something  _ did. I lived for 4 years in the time I was comatose. I remember it being sometime in April or so of 2017 and then it’s 2013 again. I know that any of what I’m going to say isn’t going to make sense, but…” She took a deep breath, “Please hear me out.”

Without a pause, she delve right into it, starting with Grant’s betrayal and the Hydra Uprising. Hand’s death, Koenig (even if they didn’t even know who that was yet), Fitzsimmons in the Pod, CyberTek. The Vault. They were all starting to look horrified, but she didn’t stop there. She went on. 

Grant being shipped to Christian and his breakout. Grant kidnapping her and taking her to her father. The temple. The crystals. Trip’s death. The Arctic base. Morse’s torture and Kara. Grant leading Hydra. Grant’s death and Hive. Robbie and the Rider. AIDA and the Framework.

She told them  _ everything. _

“What the hell?” Fitz asked, looking around the room. “And you’re saying this all starts with Ward? Why don’t we deal with him now if this is the bloody truth? You… You have to be making this up.”

“Why would I make any of that up, Fitz?” Skye asked, a little hurt that he would think this way. “That’s one hell of a dream. I don’t think it’s made up, Fitz.”

Triplett nodded, trying to ignore that Skye had said that he would die. “It makes a little sense, though.” he stated. “That’s definitely one hell of a dream for a coma to make up. It’s way too detailed. And you’ve remembered too much of it.”

Simmons’ mouth grew into a tight line, “He’s right. The average person doesn’t remember all of a dream.” she stated. “Statistically, a comatose patient does not dream, but they can sometimes hallucinate. But… That’s too detailed for a hallucination. There’s been reports of comatose patients having visions and such, but they were never injected with a serum that we don’t even know the origins of. So… Yes, it’s possible that the serum created your ‘dream’. Whether or not it’s true, we have to determine that.”

“What makes you think this is true, Skye?” May asked. “All of this, it’s a little much to take in.”

“Because. Ward’s already betrayed us.”

A chorus of protest rose up.

“I confronted him yesterday about it. About Garrett. And he reacted fairly violently. If it was false, I don’t think Mr. Stoic Superspy wouldn’t of had given a response like he did. He left us for Garrett and I think it’s set things into motion.” Skye explained. “He’s too busy trying to defend Garrett. He doesn’t see to who Garrett really is.”

She went ahead and explained about Garrett. About how Grant had been abused as a kid. Juvie. Garrett ‘recruiting’ him and throwing him into the woods for 5 years. The abuse and conditioning. They all looked sick.

Triplett shook his head, “No, there’s not way. Garrett’s my SO, too. He’s never done anything like that to me.” he protested. “He’s a good man, Skye.”

“Maybe he just hid that side from you. He’s a psychopath. All he wants to know is why Coulson’s alive. Ward was his spy on the team. Hell, they’re not really even Hydra. Garrett just used Hydra to find a way to survive.” Skye tried to explain. “Ward’s his weapon. I think if we can make Ward see Garrett for who he really is, we can get him back.”

Simmons frowned, pursing her lips. “Stockholm is possible in this case by how you describe it.” she began. “Blind denial that the captor is bad. Defending them no matter what. If Ward’s really gone through what you say, there could be mountains of trauma he’s hidden.”

“The Berserker staff only dug some of that up. It made him relive the day Christian made him throw Thomas into a well.” Skye stated. “That’s why he reacted so violently. I think that same rage showed itself yesterday.”

“But, you said he was going to try and kill us, though.” Simmons stated, receiving a nod from May. “Why should we care about him if he’s like that?”

Fitz shook his head, “The Pod is designed to float in emergencies. If it was damaged, there would’ve been no way of Ward knowing.” he stated. “You said he tried to save us from Garrett by giving us a chance in the Pod. He… He probably didn’t know that it would sink. Yes, it would’ve been slim chances at survival, but a chance nonetheless. But… You still think that ‘saving’ Ward will stop everything that’s to come? That’s kind of hard to believe, Skye, I’m sorry.”

“Even if you don’t believe me, we still need to do something soon. Ward’s already run to Garrett. Garrett probably knows about that ‘future’ because of Ward. I don’t know what Ward’s told him, but we’re in danger.” Skye explained, looking to a bare spot where she didn’t have to look at anyone. “Especially me. Garrett wants a way to survive and I think he’s found it through me. He’ll be after me sooner or later. Even if you don’t believe the rest, you need to believe me here. I’ll deal with Ward. But, we need to deal with Garrett before it’s too late.”

Coulson swallowed and began to leave the room, “I’ll contact Hand for a meeting since she’s one of the ones in danger.” he stated. “I know she’ll think we’re crazy, but we can’t take any chances yet.” He quickly left without another word.

“Skye,” May began. “These are some pretty big accusations. What happens if that dream was nothing more than a dream and this is all for naught?”

Skye swallowed, knowing what May was truly asking.

“Then… Then I think I’ve already messed things up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that things seem to be moving a little too fast, but they're supposed to be. Skye's racing against the clock here. And, honestly, she already knows what'll happen if she fails. It's now just a matter of whether she can change the future without messing up anymore or not. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	5. It Wasn't Real, It Isn't Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Trip talk.

(The Next Day)

Skye sat silently in her bunk, mulling over the possibilities of what could come now that Grant had ran to Garrett. She understood to  _ why  _ he had done so, though. Grant was afraid of what would happen now that someone knew about his ‘true’ allegiance. Garrett knew that the serum worked to some extent. But, Skye couldn’t remember if she had told Grant about the serum driving Garrett even more insane. She was so caught up in her still-present fear of him that she had forgotten all of what she had told him.

The problem was that even though she remembered May’s training, her body didn’t. She wasn’t a transformed Inhuman yet, so she currently lacked the skill she had in the future. She felt weak and she knew that would make her be at a disadvantage if they had to fight. At least she was good with a gun now. Grant didn’t know the extent of what kind of training that she had. Honestly, it would come as a surprise to everyone of what she did know. Her body just wouldn’t be able to keep up. 

Skye knew that she had to be careful. Garrett would be after her soon. He had eyes everywhere and there was no telling to when he would strike. 

_ “I’m stupid.”  _ she thought.  _ “I should’ve gone about this a completely different way, but I don’t know to how, though. If I told anyone else, Grant would be thrown in jail. I had to confront him directly, make him start to realize that Garrett isn’t the man he thinks he is. I think I made some kind of mark, but it wasn’t strong enough. Of course it didn’t. Garrett has a hold on Grant that’s much stronger than Grant’s love for me. Of course Grant’s gonna choose him over anyone else. It’s common sense, honestly. But… He needs to realize Garrett’s true nature before it’s too late for him. Before that monster inside of him wakes up.” _

She continued to stare off into the distance, mulling her options over. Hell, she didn’t even know where Grant could be now. She just had to wait until she came and got her, which she knew was definite and not a possibility. Garrett would want her for the serum now that he knew that it worked. He would go straight for her and would leave his obsession over Coulson behind. 

He had a new target now.

A soft knock at her bunk door pulled her out of her thoughts and looked up to see Triplett standing there, a small smile on her face. She fought back the rising bile as images of Trip’s stone body crumbling apart flashed through her mind. But, he didn’t know that would happen. Hell, he barely knew her here.

“Hey, I know that we’ve barely talked.” he began. “But, I just wanted to check on you. I know this is all weird circumstances and all, but you’ve been really quiet.”

“Yeah… I have a lot on my mind.” She turned her gaze from him, unable to get the image of his death out of her mind. He died because of her. He died trying to save her. Hopefully, that’ll change if she could pull Grant back to them, but she now was afraid that things would be even worse since Grant already had a reason to hate them. 

“That’s understandable. Fitz has been quiet, too. I think what you said yesterday spooked him.” Trip swallowed, “Are you sure that what you saw was real? I’m not trying to mark you as crazy or anything, but it all seems a little far-fetched.”

Skye took a breath, “I was spot-on with Grant, though.” she answered, pulling her knees to her chest. “He wouldn’t of have reacted like that if I was wrong. Grant fled because he had been found out. He fled to safety.” She looked to him, “I know you said that Garrett’s a good man, but has there ever been anything that ever made him doubt you?”

“You know, I was thinking about that last night.” he stated. “You claim that he beats Grant for the slightest slip-ups, but… He hasn’t done that to me. I’m not discrediting what you said, though. But, his training was tough. Garrett’s supposed to be one of the toughest agents to work with.”

“How tough?”

Trip shrugged, “Not violent, but he would push you to an extreme. Push you until your knees collapsed right underneath you. He wanted me to be in peak performance. ‘No weaknesses’, he said.”

Skye’s stomach fell. Grant had always alluded to the fact that he hated being ‘weak’. That Garrett made him stronger, getting rid of that weakness. Skye knew that Garrett had been exploiting the weakness that Grant had felt from his childhood. Grant wanted power to protect himself and others, whether he truly realized that or not. 

But it was Garrett who hammered that mindset into him. 

You show weakness, you get punished. It sounded like Garrett had punished Trip in his own way, just not to the extremes he went with Grant. Trip hadn’t experienced Garrett’s abuse firsthand.

“I guess he hid what Ward was to him from me. I knew that Ward was Garrett’s prodigy, but not like this.” Trip continued, not waiting for Skye to respond. “His own little dog of sorts. I’ll be honest, it’s hard to wrap my head around what you claim, but I’m not going to deny it. I… I just need time to come with terms to who Garrett really is if all this shit is true.”

Skye sighed, “That’s understandable. When Grant betrayed us in that timeline… I… I refused to believe it. He had seemed like the perfect, loyal SHIELD agent.” she explained. “But, he was just that good. But, we fully blamed him for what happened. I didn’t realize that he had been brainwashed until I was brainwashed myself. And that was two years later. Then I met that other version of him, the one that had been trained by Hand. That’s what made me realize that Garrett’s who made Grant the way he was. And that we just made things worse by never giving him a chance. Hell, Grant tried to kill himself three different times and I just told him he should’ve tried harder.”

Trip nodded slowly, “I think your anger was justifiable, though.” he answered. “From what I can tell, you love him, don’t you?” That caused Skye to look at him. “He’s the one you trusted the most and he took that and ripped it apart.” He smiled, “If this is all true, you have a chance to prove that he’s still in there somewhere. But, don’t act like it’s your sole responsibility to save him, though. He’s got to put in the effort, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“If he refuses to see Garrett for who he really is, there’s nothing you can do to change that.” Trip explained. “Don’t try to save someone who doesn’t want saving.” He frowned, noticing the tears starting to well up in her eyes, “Look, I’m just trying to be honest, Skye. I’ve never really worked with Ward, so I don’t really know much about him. But, if he’s dead-set on believing one thing about Garrett, you may not be able to change that. You have to be prepared for the possibility.” He started to walk away, “Oh, yeah. Coulson wanted me to tell you that he got into contact with Hand. She doesn’t believe much of what you said, but she’s willing to meet with us first thing tomorrow. I think the whole thing about Ward shooting her to death got her attention.”

Skye looked away as Trip disappeared. At least they were going to be able to talk to Hand, though. But, there was no guarantees to if that would get them anywhere. Hand was hard to convince of anything. But it was better than going straight to Hill or Fury. Plus, what was to come would directly affect her, so it was best to have her aware if things still went the way they were ‘supposed’ to.

But, Trip’s words made sense. If Grant didn’t want to be saved, then there was no use trying to force it upon him. If he couldn’t see Garrett’s true nature on his own, then she didn’t think that she would ever make him be able to do so. Everything would all be for waste if she couldn’t get to him. Trip was right. 

Grant couldn’t be saved if that was the one thing he would fight so hard against.

It was likely that Grant was a complete lost cause.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that the next chapter will have a lot more going on. I just needed some more exposition on Skye's end of things before I jump into the meat of the action. And I promise that the next chapter will end rather explosively. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	6. Above a Glowing Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end comes.

(The Next Morning)

“Now, I don’t believe this little story of yours. You’re not even an agent, so there’s not much precedence behind what you say. But, I’ve always believed that Ward was a little rat and you saying that he ‘kills’ me got my attention. So, you better find a very good way to figure out how to convince me that what you saw was completely true.”

Skye gulped, looking right into Victoria Hand’s cold and calculating eyes. They all sat around a conference table deep within the Hub. Hell, Skye was surprised that they got this far and she imagined to just what Coulson had told her to convince her to even give them the time of day.

"Uh… Yeah." she swallowed, not really sure of what to say to Hand. Especially after the Hub incident. "I know it all sounds  _ very  _ crazy. Trust me, it did to me at first. But I have no idea to how the hell I could dream up 4 entire years, Hand. It has to mean something. And some of it had to be true in order to scare Ward like that. He knows that he's in danger."

"But," Hand began, pushing up her glasses. "You want to 'save' him. You think that pulling him from Garrett will create an entirely different person. All because a 'dream' told you so." She still stared straight at Skye, “That’s not very good evidence, you know. Especially if you claim Hydra’s about to rise up in a couple of weeks. I can’t just go to Hill or Fury and say that someone who’s not even an agent claims that Hydra’s coming all due to a dream. 

Plus, if what you say is true, Ward sounds like an absolute monster.” she continued. “Why even bother trying to save him when you know what he’ll do? Sounds like he tries to kill the each of you in some way or another. I don’t think that’s worth saving. I think it would be better if you just went ahead and dealt with him once and for all. I never trusted him, anyways.”

“Look, I know what I saw!” Skye protested. “I know that it was all real. I have nightmares about it every night now! I don’t think a ‘dream’ would affect me like that, Hand. You just got to hear me out. Ward was abused and conditioned by Garrett for  _ years _ , wanting to turn him into his own little weapon that he could easily control and exploit. Ward doesn’t even realize to what’s happening to him. We have to find a way to get to him before it’s too late.”

“And why worry about one man when we have an entire organization to worry about here?” Hand questioned. “If Hydra’s really about to rise up from every crevice inside of SHIELD, shouldn’t we deal with that more than just worrying about one man? One man isn’t equal to hundreds. Ward would be expendable in this, wouldn’t he? What’s worse? Him dying or hundreds dying?”

Skye was starting to fume at this point. Of course she knew that Hand would pull something like this. Especially after what happened with that mission she sent Grant and Fitz on. The very mission Hand was more than willing to let Grant and Fitz die on. The only reason to why Hand was a good option here because there was a possibility that she would get killed and that going directly to Hill or Fury wasn’t a good idea yet. Not until they knew what they were dealing with.

“Look…” Skye took a sharp breath. “I met another version of him. In a digital world where everything was changed because certain things in our lives were taken away or changed. The world was ruled by Hydra, but Ward was a hero. He worked for the small SHIELD resistance that stood against Hydra’s tyranny. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it made sense in the end. He was a hero all because Garrett never trained him. Someone else got to him and shaped him.”

Hand frowned, “And who was that?”

“You.” Skye answered, causing the agent to frown even more. “SHIELD was the one who pulled him out of juvie there and you trained him, not Garrett. And that Ward was completely different.”

“There’s no record here of Ward going to juvenile hall.”

Coulson decided that now was the time to speak up, “I had May look into Ward’s file. His file shows signs of heavy edits. His file was heavily doctored by someone outside of SHIELD.” he explained. “Garrett rewrote it to remove his criminal history. The original Grant Ward was pronounced missing in an attack on a Plymouth juvenile detention center in 1998 because authorities never found him. Garrett changed it to where he was never in juvie and that part of his history was erased. He was in there for 1st degree arson and attempted murder, we found. Tried to burn his house down with his older brother inside after driving hundreds of miles home from a military school. Older brother wanted him tried as an adult. I don’t know how Garrett found him, but he kidnapped him from juvie.”

Hand’s frown deepened even more, “There from which you claim Garrett throws him into the wilderness for 5 years to ‘train’ him.” She looked around at the team, “I will admit that this all seems  _ too  _ detailed to be made up. But a bad past doesn’t mean Ward’s crimes should be excused. He’s a traitor and a murderer.”

“He’s been brainwashed for years, Hand. I don’t think he realizes the implications of his actions.” Skye tried to explain. “His morals are so over the place that he doesn’t realize what he’s doing is wrong. I just want to help him before it’s too late. Before he’s allowed to become the monster he was in that future that I saw. I just wanna give him a chance, Hand.”

Hand turned and looked at the screen behind her for a few long seconds before turning back to look at Skye. “I understand that you’re giving us a warning of sorts.” she stated. “But, what is it that you want me to say? What do you want me to do?”

“We just need the resources to track Ward down before it’s too late.” Coulson answered, hoping that this wasn’t all in vain. “We’re just one team. We don’t have the resources to find out where he could be.”

“You do realize that I am obligated to tell Fury everything from this meeting right?” Hand questioned. “Hydra’s a serious threat. Even if Skye isn’t a legitimate agent, I know that Fury will want her for questioning. Her mind holds a lot of secrets about Hydra right now, if they are true, and I know that Director Fury will want that information.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that Skye will have to stay here. In protection. If Hydra is really out there and the wrong person finds out, she’ll be a target.” Hand explained. “She-”

“I’m already a target!” Skye snapped, standing to her feet. “It’s no doubt that Garrett will want me for outing him and Ward. And I know that Garrett wants my blood to save himself. I’m already in danger, Hand. I don’t need your damn protection. I can protect myself.”

Hand almost laughed, “You lack the proper training and you don’t have those magical little powers you claim that you had in that ‘future’.” she stated coldly. “You aren’t a qualified agent.”

“I am very much an agent as anyone else is in this fucking room!” She clenched her fists. “Even if that future didn’t technically happen, I still went through it. You don’t know the shit I went through to get here, Hand. Hell, I almost  _ died  _ for this organization already. Then I go through four years of trauma that I wake up to find never actually happened? I think I’m qualified.”

“Skye…” May began, but Skye ignored her. 

“I deserve to be here as much as anyone else does!”

Hand’s face grew taut, “Look, you never went to the Academy. You know things that a civilian shouldn’t know.” she began. “But…” She trailed off as her face fell. “Wait.” She came from around the table, looking at the door that led to the hallway. “Where are the guards?” she asked. “There were armed agents outside since this is a confidential meeting. They’re not there. They’re supposed to stay there until I dismiss this meeting.”

Skye’s stomach dropped, spinning around to find a seemingly empty hallway. “It’s empty.”

Hand whipped her head back towards them, “Who else knows that you’re here?!” she demanded, her hand reaching to a gun holstered on her belt. 

Coulson stood to his feet, “Vic, we’re the only ones that know.” he pleaded. “We just set up this meeting yesterday.”

A look of fear settled onto Hand’s face, something that looked unnatural on her. “Then we-”

She was cut off as an explosion rocked the floor beneath them, sending them all to the floor. Hand reached for something in her suit jacket as Skye tried to bring herself to her feet as someone screamed. Was it Fitz? Coulson?. But, Skye found herself falling again as another deafening explosion rang in her ears, much closer this time around, plunging the conference room into darkness. Her head hit something hard and darkness had already started to claim her. Alarms rang out in her ears as she tried to scream out for the others. She was woozy. Her head already hurt. She knew that it wouldn’t be long until unconsciousness claimed her. Flames flickered in the edges of her vision as she could barely make out bodies on the floor. Were they alive? She couldn’t tell. At this point, she didn’t even know if she was alive or not.

“Leave the others alone.” a familiar voice barked. “John doesn’t want them. Just her. And I’ll fucking kill you if you lay a finger on her. She’s mine.”

Skye struggled to lift her head up as a figure stepped towards her, obscured by the flames. She could feel blood running down the back of her neck. Everything hurt. She could faintly make out the figure as it stepped closer to her as her vision faded in and out. “ _ Grant? _ ”

He kneeled down next to her, “I won’t hurt the others, Skye. Only if they leave me alone. Garrett just wants you. But this is a message. Should be enough to make them leave us alone.” he whispered. His voice seemed strained. Like he was scared in a way. His face was bruised and swollen. Was that  _ blood  _ dried on his cheek? It looked at least a couple of hours old. Had Garrett beaten him before he had gotten here? “I’m sorry, but I have to do this. You have something John wants and I promised it to him. And I can’t fail him on that. I can’t disappoint him again.”

She couldn’t protest. She found that she couldn’t speak. Her limbs were heavy and her vision dark. The last thing she registered before falling into unconsciousness was Grant Ward carefully picking her up, taking her away. 

Taking her straight into hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. That happened. I did promise that the action would ramp up, after all. The next chapter will be rather interesting, in my opinion. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	7. Beneath the Lowest Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finds herself in the aftermath.

(Three Days Later)

Skye pulled her eyes open, struggling to pull herself up. The light above her hurt her eyes and her head pounded. She gingerly touched the back of her head, finding it wrapped with heavy gauze.

“What?”

Then it hit her. The explosion.The figure stepping out of the flames and taking her away. Wait, it had-

“You’re awake.”

Her head whipped around to see Grant sitting in a metal chair. His eye was swollen and his face was peppered with purple bruises. There was a stitched-up gash right underneath his eye. She lunged towards him, but was pulled back with the clang of chains. She was chained to the bed.

Grant gestured to the chains, “Garrett insisted on those.” he stated, no emotion in his voice. “You were trained by me, so he didn’t want to take any chances.”

“What the fuck, Ward?!” she hissed, old anger bubbling up. She didn’t care about saving him at the moment. She was pissed right now. “What the hell did you do? Where are the others?!”

He cocked his head, “The others are alive. Injured, but alive. I made sure of that myself. I made sure that the bombs only affected the room that you were in. So, there should be no major casualties. I didn’t want to cause a mess just yet.” he answered, a cold look in his eyes. “A mole inside of the Hub told Garrett about your meeting with Hand. He’s disappointed that you would do such a thing. You just gave us up to the wolves, you know.”

Skye snarled at him, “I did what was right, Ward!” she yelled. “I knew about Hydra. I couldn’t keep that a secret.”

Grant stood to his feet and walked over to her. “Too bad that Garrett doesn’t care about Hydra. They were only a means to an end.” He reached out and ran a hand down her cheek, causing her to shy away from him. “I don’t care what happens to the rest of Hydra as long as John gets what he wants. He’s fairly interested in that whole thing about you seeing four years of the future.”

“What did he do to me?” Skye stared at him. She couldn’t help but to notice how  _ attractive  _ he was. His hair was disheveled and he had the stubble of a beard going on. He wore a black henley, which he had unbuttoned, exposing some of his collar bone. Even the dried blood on his face gave him a certain aura. She swallowed. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about him like that. Not until she could get him away from Garrett. 

“He’s done nothing yet.” Grant stated coldly. “I asked him to not touch you until you were awake. Raina also agreed that you needed to wake up on your own before running tests. Especially since you were just comatose not too long ago.”

Skye swallowed and glared at him, “So, you would really let me die just so that bastard can live?” she asked quietly. “Is that how you think of me?”

Grant’s body went rigid, “I do care about you, Skye, but John… John’s different.” he whispered, his voice strained. “I owe him everything. You need to understand that. I’ll do  _ anything  _ to save him. He saved me, you need to understand that. I owe him my life.”

Skye pulled at her restraints, “And that includes giving me up as a fucking lab rat? You don’t owe him shit!” She was practically fuming at this point. She couldn’t figure him out. She didn’t expect something like this. She was starting to doubt that she could even save him at all.

Grant’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, “I can’t fail him, Skye.” he stated. “Not like SHIELD did. I don’t even understand to why you’re so damn loyal to SHIELD. I’m disgusted that you would even meet with Hand. You do remember to how willing she was to abandon me and Fitz, right? SHIELD thinks its agents as expendable. That doesn’t warrant loyalty.”

“And Hydra does the same damn thing!”

“I am not Hydra!” Grant snapped, a vein bulging in his forehead. “I am loyal to John and him alone. Hydra’s only a means to an end, Skye. Garrett’s ready to leave them behind anyway. And I will follow where he goes.”

“And does Garrett really warrant your loyalty? He’s done nothing but turn you into a monster, Ward.” Skye stated, still trying to get underneath his skin. “Hell, he left you to rot in a forest for five years.”

“He made me stronger!” Grant screamed. “I would’ve died in jail if it weren’t for him!”

“He only wanted you because he knew he could easily manipulate him, Grant!” Skye swallowed. “He would be more than glad to toss you aside if it benefitted him. Garrett doesn’t care what happens to you in the end. You are just a tool to him. He does not see you as a person. He will cast you aside the moment you become useless to him.”

“He wouldn’t do such a thing. He saved me, Skye. You don’t understand what he’s done for me.”

“Grant.” she began, taking a different tone. “Where did those bruises and cuts come from?”

Grant froze up, bringing a hand to the stitched-up gash, “A SHIELD agent.” he lied. 

“I know those are from Garrett, Grant. He got mad at you for exposing him and beat the shit out of you, didn’t he?”

Skye still couldn’t believe that he would make up excuses for what was happening to him. But, it made sense. He was so damn intent on protecting Garrett that he would completely ignore what the man was doing to him.

Grant started to head towards the cell door, “I was the one that slipped-up, Skye. I deserved it. I put him at risk.” He opened the door and glared at her for a split second. “John isn’t the monster you think he is. Leave it the fuck alone. Raina will come soon to get you for tests. And don’t say a single damn thing to John.”

He left and slammed the door behind him. 

Skye took a deep breath, staring at the iron door. “This is just fucking great.” she muttered. “I try to change things but he still kidnaps me. There’s no drive this time around. Garrett just wants my blood now. So, that’s different.” Even though she didn’t want to be angry with Grant, knowing that he really couldn’t help what he was doing, she still despised him right now. 

She had hoped that he wouldn’t pull something so damn stupid, but of course he had to bomb the Hub and kidnap her. Grant had claimed that the others were okay, but she really didn’t trust what he had to say right now because she knew that his words were still being influenced by Garrett. But, what Grant had said before he left worried her.

Grant thought the abuse was warranted because he felt like he had been the one to fuck up. Grant thought he had done some terrible thing by accidentally exposing Garrett and felt like he needed to be punished for it. Skye hated to know what other twisted things he thought like that. 

It all just seemed so  _ wrong.  _ She tried to change things, but she still got herself in the same situation as before. 

In a way, it felt like maybe things were supposed to end up like how they did. That she couldn’t change the past. Maybe Trip had been right. You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. Hell, Grant didn’t even think he was in danger. Skye knew that something serious had to happen in order to get Grant to see Garrett for who he really was.

Raina was to come and retrieve her soon. Skye didn’t even want to even guess what her tests would entail. She hoped that it would just be some blood tests or something. But, she couldn’t believe that Grant was more than willing to give her up just so Garrett could survive. She could tell that a part of him still loved her. But, it was obvious that his ‘love’ for Garrett was much, much stronger. 

There had to be a way to break through it, to reach the real Grant. The Grant that hadn’t been tainted and twisted by Garrett’s evil. Even if she could tell that Grant was starting to doubt some things, he was still violently loyal to the man. 

Hell, he had bombed an entire SHIELD base to find a way for Garrett to live. At this point, Skye wasn’t sure of what he  _ wouldn’t  _ do for the man. 

Skye knew that she had to find a way to make things worse. Perhaps find a way to make Garrett snap towards her. Maybe that could awaken something in Grant. Make him retaliate against the man even for a split second. Just long enough to make things go  _ wrong _ . To make sure Grant could see that monster that Garrett really was.

Skye sighed, knowing that it was an extremely risky move. It could get her seriously hurt or killed. There was no way to contact the others. Hell, she didn’t even know to where she was. She just had to hold out, hoping that something with Grant would change.

But, she wasn’t even sure if Grant would begin to change.

Old habits die hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will warn you now, the coming chapters will have a LOT going on. There isn't going to be a break until the end. Also, I will assure you that everyone (Hand included) is okay. Grant only aimed to cause a disturbance and get Skye (he is an explosives expert after all), not kill anyone. There is still a part that loves her and you will see that part soon enough. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	8. Closer Now, a Beggar's Crown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant's doubt starts to grow.

(Later That Day)

Skye grimaced as Raina checked the straps on the examining table she was on. “Is this really all necessary?” she asked. “Do you really have to restrain me?” She eyed Grant, but he looked away from her and didn’t respond. 

“Garrett doesn’t want to take any chances with you.” Raina answered for him, walking over to a tray that contained a set of syringes. “You’re Ward’s rookie, after all. Garrett knows that you can fight.”

Skye’s stomach churned. “So, you really gonna cut me up into little pieces?” she asked coldly. “Chop me up like I’m in some kind of meat market?”

Raina eyed Grant, who was still quiet. He had been quiet since the morning, since his confrontation with Skye. She had also heard him and Garrett arguing before that, which Grant had then come out with a bleeding gash on his cheek. She had stitched it up for him. She looked back to Skye. 

“No matter what Garrett thinks, you’re no use to me dead, Skye.” she answered. “I’m not interested in how your body works at this point. I want to see what your blood can do for others. I’ll have to synthesize the serum from it, of course. But, I only want to see the outside effects. I might take some tissue samples from you from time to time, but nothing to worry about. I don’t have much time anyways, Garrett wants that serum as soon as possible.” Her voice was cool and calm. She stole another glance at Grant, her hand hovering over a syringe.

“This isn’t going to work. At all. It’ll just make things worse.” Skye hissed, grinding her teeth as she felt the needle slide under her skin. “The serum doesn’t work on humans.”

That caught Grant’s attention.

He spun around and stalked towards her, “What the hell do you mean?” he growled. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

“I don’t know, I was too busy being fucking  _ kidnapped _ !” she yelled as Raina took the needle out of her vein. “But, it doesn’t work. The serum… It contains alien DNA. It does not work on humans. It only works on people with a, uh, special gene or something.” She didn’t feel like mentioning the Inhumans yet. She hadn’t mentioned that to Grant at all since she had been focused on him and Garrett. And she especially didn’t want to say anything with Raina in the room.

“Is this a part of your fucked-up fantasy world?”

She frowned, noticing how Raina stepped back for a bit. Of course she did, she wanted to hear every last bit about the serum. “It’s not a ‘fantasy world’, Ward. I know it was real and that serum will drive Garrett insane. Well, more insane than he is now. It did the same to Coulson. It drove him to draw symbols. Some kind of map, I don’t remember. You’ve seen those symbols. You know those symbols you saw in Russia? Amador?”

Grant’s face fell, “I don’t… I don’t understand.” 

“Those symbols and the serum are related. It’s an alien language, Ward. And if you let Garrett have the serum, it’ll drive him insane with the compulsion to write that language.”

Grant snarled and Skye found him suddenly looming over her, “You’re lying.” he growled. “You’re just telling me that because you don’t want John to live.” He stepped back and looked to Raina, “Don’t let her stop you from getting the samples you need.” he ordered. “She’s making the crap up.”

“You do know that Garrett has an interest in that ‘future’, right?” Raina asked, cocking her head at him. “He seems to believe it.” She didn’t really care about Skye’s warning either other way. She was just curious to see what it would do. She wasn’t in this to save Garrett. Of course she wasn’t. All she wanted to know about now was the alien DNA that Skye’s blood contained. 

A muscle twitched in Grant’s face, but he remained silent and backed away. 

The room was left in silence as Raina took 3 more syringes worth of blood. She backed away from Skye.

“This is all I need for right now. I may take some tissue samples from her later if the blood tests end up being inconclusive. I-” She stopped as she suddenly found Grant’s hand locked around her wrist and he pulled her out into the hallway and away from Skye.

“If you do more than you’re supposed to, you  _ will  _ regret it.” he hissed in a low voice so Skye couldn’t hear him. “You’re only supposed to take blood. Not cut her open.”

“I recall Garrett saying that I could do whatever it took to figure the serum out.” Raina replied. “I only told Skye I needed only blood and small tissue samples in order to keep her calm.”

Grant’s eyes flared, the Berserker rage bubbling back up. “You fucking heard me.” he snapped. “You do something she won’t fully recover from and you’ll find a bullet in your fucking skull.”

A smile pulled at Raina’s lips and she cocked her head, “Well, Agent Ward, I think you need to ask yourself who’s more important to you.” she stated. “You want to save Garrett, but you’re refusing to let me do the work I need to do on Skye in order to do so. That’s a conflicting interest to me. I don’t see why you just don’t let the man die. He’s running on borrowed time.

But, you care for Skye. I can tell that you love her. That you think you two are a pair. The Berserker dog and the girl with alien blood.” Her smile grew, “You know, I think you two could truly be  _ monsters together  _ if you tried hard enough.”

Raina found herself pinned against the wall, but she kept her cool, “But, you need to ask yourself who you truly care for here.” she continued. She eyed the stitched-up gash, “Which of the two of them actually cares for you?” She knew that Skye’s words about the future were true; she didn’t doubt it one bit. Garrett always struck her as an odd man and she knew that Grant’s loyalty to him was of a twisted nature. But, that wasn’t her business to be sticking her nose into. She was here for her own reasons. 

She pulled away from him, “Who is it that you  _ truly  _ want alive after everything is all said and done?” She turned her back to him, heading back into the lab, her heels echoing against the concrete floor. 

Grant took a sharp breath to steady himself, running his hands through his hair. He looked back to Skye through the window, seeing that she was still strapped to the table. He really wasn’t sure of what to think of Raina’s question. And, honestly, he wasn’t sure of what to do anymore.

Yes, he wanted Garrett to live. He owed the man his entire life. But, was it worth giving up the woman he loved in order to do so? Surely, there had to be some other way to save the man. Couldn’t Raina find something to keep Garrett alive that wouldn’t hurt Skye in the process. But, he had to save Garrett no matter what.

Grant looked down to his hands, thinking of the monster Skye had told him that he would become. He shook his head, refusing to believe so. He wasn’t evil, was he? He was only in this for Garrett and Garrett alone. And it wasn’t like SHIELD were the good guys themselves. There were no heroes in this game.

There were no heroes in his life. They just simply didn’t exist. How could there be heroes after all the shit he had been through?

No, he  _ was  _ the hero. He believed that he would be the hero if he managed to save Garrett’s life after everything.

Even if he was only the hero in Garrett’s eyes, it would all still matter. 

Skye was just a distraction. 

He looked back to Skye through the window, watching as Raina allowed her to sit up. He frowned as his stomach started to churn. He thought of the future once more, the future that Skye claimed would happen if he continued on this past. Could he really let that happen? Could he really let a future so terrible happen to her? Happen to him?

He shook his head and began to walk away, turning his back to Skye. 

No, he told himself. Garrett was still more important to him. A part of him still believed that he could gladly give Skye up as long as it meant that Garrett would survive. But, another part of him, a part that was starting to grow with each and every minute, was starting to doubt that. 

His faith in Garrett was slowly starting to waiver. 

Just like a flickering flame that would go out at any moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I think the next chapter will be big in terms of Grant and Garrett's relationship. There may or may not be a huge fight. But, I will say it won't completely destroy that relationship since Garrett's hold on Grant is too strong. You will see the culmination of Garrett's hold in a couple of chapters. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	9. Paralyzed the Soul That I Bared Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrett confronts Grant.

(That Night)

“Raina tells me that you aren’t allowing her to fully perform her tests on Skye.”

Grant frowned and looked up, seeing pure disappointment written on Garrett’s face. “She lied.” he answered. “She just told me it would be blood tests. I thought she was just lying about the cutting thing.” 

Garrett raised an eyebrow, “Son, surely you’re not that stupid. I thought you were ready to give her up for me?” he asked, his voice low. “What made you change your mind?”

Grant looked away and didn’t respond, something that Garrett didn’t like.

A frown pulled at Garrett’s lips and he took a step towards the man, “You’ve grown soft, haven’t you?” he asked, anger biting its way into his voice. “You let that little bitch control and shape you into someone you’re not supposed to be. You’re not supposed to be this  _ weak. _ ”

Grant curled his hands into fists, but still remained silent. He hated when Garrett tried to get under his skin like this. But, he would take it with bated breath. He was the one being weak. Garrett’s words were true in a way. He was failing Garrett all because he was letting Skye get to him. 

“Are you believing those lies she’s spewing?” Garrett continued, not waiting for Grant to respond. “Surely there’s no way that you’re responsible for the future she faced. I don’t doubt her words, but she’s placing the blame on you. Claiming that ‘saving’ you will change things is absolute bullshit. You don’t need saving from anything.”

“All I ask.” Grant took a sharp breath and clenched his teeth, trying to fight back the growing Berserker rage that burned in his chest. “Is that you don’t hurt her. You can take blood, but I don’t want you doing something to her that she won’t recover from.”

Garrett’s face fell even more, “Why not test the limits of her body?” he suggested. “See what that serum’s really done to her. Surely you would want to see the full regenerative effects of it before giving it to me, right?”

“Then do it on someone who’s already dead!” Grant snapped. “Skye already died once. I don’t want to go through that again.”

“So you’re more worried about her than you are about me.”

Not a question. It was a raw statement. One seeping with held back anger.

Grant spun around and faced him, “I do want you to survive, John.” he began. “I’m just saying that there has to be some other way to perform tests without putting Skye at risk. Raina’s resourceful. I’m sure that she can dig up some recently deceased cadavers or something to test the synthesized serum on. I-”

“This isn’t about being resourceful, son. It’s about payback.”

Grant blinked and grew pale. “Huh?”

Garrett’s lip twitched. “You know exactly to what the hell I’m talking about. Your little whore jeopardized everything for us, Grant.” he hissed. “She outed us and the entirety of Hydra. There’s no coming back from this. We have to step our game up. We’ll have to kill to survive; step up our game. It’s likely that Fury already knows about the moles. We don’t have much time until he starts weeding us out. She’s ruined everything for us. The testing is payback. Punishment.”

“I think she’s been through enough.”

Garrett scoffed and took another step towards Grant, “You really are weak, huh?” he mocked. “What did I tell you about emotional attachments, son. That’s the last thing that you want. And you go and get yourself horny for some little bitch.” He pointed back towards the holding cell that held Skye, “If you want to fuck her so badly, then why don’t you just go do that?”

The Berserker rage started to burn at Grant’s throat. “It isn’t like that, John.” he hissed through clenched teeth. “And  _ please  _ stop calling her a bitch.”

“And you need to stop thinking with your dick and start thinking about what’s right for you.” Garrett shot back. “You’re letting your life be controlled by her.” He looked him dead in the eyes, “Maybe I should finish what Quinn failed to do.”

“She’s giving you want you want, John!” Grant yelled, his body shaking with unbridled anger. “You wanted her blood for the serum and you got just that! What more do you fucking want?!”

Garrett snarled at him, “I want you to wake the fuck up and remember who really matters here!” he growled. “Are you really putting some little bitch over me after all that I’ve done for you?”

“It’s not-”

Grant was cut off as Garrett’s fist violently connected with his ribs. His eyes widened as he felt something crack and he doubled over, immediately shying away from the man as the rage quickly morphed into pure terror. Garrett’s claws started to sink back into Grant’s mind, Grant’s fear of the man leashing him to Garrett.

“Who’s more important to you?!” Garrett screamed, looming over the fallen Grant. “Me or some whore?! Think of every single fucking thing I’ve done for you and you want to put  _ her  _ over me? You need to remember the hell I pulled you out of, the man I turned you into. You would be rotting in a jail cell somewhere if it weren’t for me.” He knelt down next to Grant, who was now holding a hand to the broken rib. 

The rib was just a reminder of weakness to Grant. The stitched-up gash on his cheek. His swollen eye. Just reminders of what he had done wrong. Reminders to be better, to not be  _ weak.  _ The pain was nothing more than lessons to him. A way for Garrett to recement his hold on the young man.

“You do want me to survive, don’t you?” Garrett asked, his tone growing momentarily soft. He lifted the side of his turtleneck up to show the implant in his side. The very implant that was barely keeping him alive. “This thing isn’t going to work forever, you know. I don’t have much time until it fails and I die. I have to have that serum as soon as possible. And it isn’t going to work if you keep prioritizing that girl over me. 

We don’t have much time until SHIELD finds us and I need you ready.” he continued. “I don’t need you with your dick in some girl. She might have you believing that the ‘bad future’ is your fault or whatever, but that doesn’t give you a reason to give up on me.” He stood to his feet, still looking down at Grant, “I’ll repeat myself one more time, son. Do you want me to survive or not?”

Grant looked up at him, uncertainty settling into his mind. But Garrett’s hold was stronger than that doubt. He still wanted the man to live. He had to pay back the debt he owed him for pulling him out of the hell that was his childhood. Grant still failed to realize the even bigger hell that he had been pulled into. Even the broken rib couldn’t make him see that.

“Yes, sir. I do.” Grant muttered, pulling himself to his feet and wincing as pain shot through his side. 

Garrett raised an eyebrow, “What was that?”

“I do.”

He smiled, “That’s more like it.” he stated before walking away towards the lab to check on Raina’s progress.

Grant’s frown returned along with his growing doubt. Yes, he wanted to see the man survive, but was it really worth it at this point? Was it worth it to potentially risk Skye’s life just so the man could live to see another day? What was the point to all of this? He held his side and grimaced as he hobbled away. He’d have to get Raina to check his side out later. He couldn’t go in there when Garrett was still in the room.

But, there was still a part of him that believed he deserved all of the pain inflicted on him by Garrett. Maybe Skye was making him weak. Grant did believe her about the future, though, even if he wasn’t admitting it. She had been spot-on about Hydra. But, he still refused to believe what she said about Garrett. 

Garrett cared for him, right? Why else would he pull him out of juvie all those years ago? Grant refused to believe otherwise, but that growing doubt was starting to pull him in another direction. 

Had he just been a tool all along? Was Skye right about her claims? Was he nothing more than a punching bag to Garrett?

No, he told himself once more. That couldn’t be. That just couldn’t be. There was no way that Garrett would do so much for him only to throw him aside in the end. He still wanted to see that the man survived. But, that doubt was still there, though. 

Would ensuring Garrett’s survival only ensure Grant’s own downfall? 

Could Grant be heading down on a path of no return? 

That growing doubt sat heavy in Grant’s chest as he hobbled his way back to his makeshift room. Maybe this wasn’t the right way to go. Maybe things could go a different way. Why couldn’t he just find the courage to take Skye far away from here to a place where she could be safe? He often dreamed at night of being in bed with her, their naked bodies intertwined. He loved her and wanted her love in return.

But, unfortunately, Grant’s yearning for Garrett’s survival was far too strong. Even love couldn’t tear him from this path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's about one more chapter before the big climactic one. And I do promise that'll be a long chapter. The next chapter will be some good Skyeward interaction. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	10. I Loved More Than I Could Hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye has a heart to heart with Grant.

(The Next Day)

“Is this all really worth it, Grant?” 

Skye stared Grant down, noticing how he favored his right side. How he acted even more injured than yesterday. He was quiet. But, he had come into the cell about 10 minutes ago with a chair and sat. But he hadn’t said a single word. He was supposed to be in here to interrogate her about all what she knew about Hydra, but hadn’t bothered with it.

He was sore. He hadn’t slept the night before. He didn’t feel like dealing with information that really didn’t matter right now. Wasn’t the serum Garrett’s priority right now? Why was he worrying about Skye’s knowledge of Hydra when they really weren’t Hydra? Grant felt like Garrett was just bored at this point, just finding something to do while Raina worked on synthesizing the serum from Skye’s blood.

Grant blinked and looked up at her, his swollen eye making him look angry. But, he looked away and remained silent. 

“What else did he do to you, Grant?” she asked quietly. “I heard you two arguing yesterday. I couldn’t understand to what it was about, but I know that he did something to hurt you.”

“What he did I deserved, Skye.” Grant muttered, staring at the floor. “Stop acting like that.”

Skye’s face fell, “You really think that you deserve all of this, Grant?” she asked, now just feeling pure pity for him. “He’s abusing you. Using you as his own personal punching bag. You don’t deserve to be treated like trash. You don’t have to help him. He’s weak. He’s just prolonging the inevitable. The serum isn’t a cure for a normal human being. It’ll only make things worse.”

Grant clenched his fists, “You don’t understand, Skye. He… He’s the father that I never had. My father was either absent or flat-out drunk.”

“And Garrett’s better than that? He beats the shit out of you in order to teach you some kind of fucked-up lesson. That’s not an upgrade.” She stood to his feet and moved towards him. He hadn’t bothered to chain her up. He seemed different today. That’s why she could tell that Garrett had done something to him. He was defeated looking. Skye couldn’t figure out what he was thinking and she didn’t like it.

“I don’t want to see him suffer, Skye. Not like this.” His voice cracked like he was on the verge of tears. “He… His device almost gave out on him this morning. That’s the second time this week. I had to jumpstart him. Again. It’s getting worse by the week. He’ll be dead if the serum doesn’t work out.”

Skye’s heart dropped. That was it. That was what was bothering him. Grant had almost witnessed his mentor’s death this morning and it had taken a lot out of him. But, it was expected though. Garrett’s hold on him still seemed to be way too strong. Grant cared way too deeply for the man. No, she didn’t understand what Garrett had ‘done’ for him, but there was no way that anything the man had done warranted this kind of loyalty. 

She understood him wanting to repay a debt, but this was far beyond her comprehension. He was practically obsessed with the man. Even though Garrett would beat him for the smallest of things, Grant would only merely accept it as punishment and keep on going. Garrett had drilled into that any kind of weakness was a bad thing and had to get rid of. Including her. 

“Grant, that serum isn’t going to work.” she stated softly. “I told you, it’ll drive him insane. It’s better that he goes out as himself and not like that. I’m sure that you wouldn’t want to see that.” She was playing into his ‘love’ for Garrett, trying to win him over emotionally. Maybe if she could convince him to leave Garrett to die for his own sake, she could get him far away from here. But, she knew that it wasn’t going to work. He was going to fight tooth and nail to find a way to save the madman. 

“No, Raina can figure out a way to fix that.” Grant said, lying to himself. He knew that Skye was probably telling the truth about the serum, but he refused to believe it. He wanted the serum to be the end all for Garrett. So they could finally stop searching for a way of survival. “It’ll have to work. I don’t want to watch him suffer any longer.”

Skye kneeled down in front of him, “Grant, I know that you have a big heart. You feel way too much and care way too much for anyone but yourself. I know that you care for Garrett and want to see him survive, but he doesn’t warrant your care. He never cared for you. At all. The only reason to why he pulled you out of juvie is because he saw a weapon in you that he could twist and exploit. He would gladly throw you aside if it benefitted him in any way.”

Grant shook his head, “I…” he began, but trailed off. He didn’t want to think that Skye was lying to him. He loved her. And she loved him. But why would she make stuff up like this? No, Garrett saved him. He owed Garrett the entire world. The least he could do was find a way to ensure the man’s survival.

Skye stood up and took a step back, “You may not want to believe it, Grant, but Garrett isn’t the man you think he is.” she continued. “It’ll be hard to wake up from the lies he has you believing about him and SHIELD, but you can wake up. You have people back at SHIELD who care deeply for you, Grant. Far more deeply than Garrett ever did. Garrett beats you. He’s brainwashed you. He ordered me dead and the only reason to why he helped find a cure for me was to find a cure for himself. He cares only for himself and no one else. And I know that you know that somewhere inside of you. You… You just have to see that. You can stop this. Just let him die, Grant.”

“Skye,” Grant stood up and looked her dead in the eyes. But, he wasn’t angry. He was just tired-looking. His shoulders sagged and he favored his right side. Bruises mottled his face. It looked as though he was ready to give it all up. “You… You just don’t understand. You never will.”

“No, I won’t.” She stood her ground. “I don’t know how you feel. At all. I will never begin to understand how you feel about Garrett, but I know that the feeling’s not mutual. He never cared for you, Grant. Your injuries prove that. Let him go and we’ll get out of here. I can help you.”

Grant averted his gaze from her, “And why? After all you saw in the future… Why help me?”

Skye swallowed, “I was angry with you at first in the future. I wanted you to kill yourself. I shot you in the side 4 times. I wanted you to die. But, truly, I was just angry with myself and you were an outlet. A scapegoat of sorts. I was in love with you and had allowed myself to get fooled.” she admitted. “But… I eventually understood. Things happened that made me realize Garrett’s influence on you, Grant. I had realized that you had been brainwashed. That you had never truly been evil. The way you acted was a direct consequence of Garrett’s influence. You didn’t know any better. And we failed you, sending you to the wolves.

I eventually grew to regret that, though.” she continued. “And I often wondered to what would’ve happened if we had just given you a chance to prove who you really were. Garrett gave you a mask that you were never able to shed. And now, I wanna see who you are without that mask.”

Grant turned his attention back to her, bringing a hand to his broken rib. He had gotten Raina to tend to it that morning, but she couldn’t do much given their current circumstances. He swallowed, thinking of how Garrett’s fist had connected with his ribs. How Garrett wanted Skye dead. He couldn’t really risk her just for him, right? No, he told himself once more. He swore that Garrett  _ did  _ care in his own way. That he couldn’t abandon the man like this.

“Grant.” Skye took another step towards him. “I don’t want that future to happen again. I don’t want to fail you. I…” She took a sharp breath, “I do love you, Grant. I really do. I just want to make things right to give us a future. And I don’t want to lose you to Garrett. He doesn’t care for you at all, Grant. You need to realize that. Who’s more important to you? Me or him?”

Grant stared down at her, heat rising in his chest. Truly, he didn’t know to what to think. He wanted Garrett to survive, but could he really risk  _ her  _ in doing so? His mouth grew dry. He loved her dearly. A part of him wanted to take her far away from here. Far away from SHIELD, Hydra, and Garrett. But, his loyalty to Garrett kept him bolted in place. No, Grant  _ loved  _ Skye. He was crazy for her. He had her love in return, something that he had always craved. He wanted her. He wanted to.. He wanted- He wanted-

“Grant, please listen to me. Garrett isn’t worth it. We can pull you away from him. We can help you. I-”

Skye was cut off as she found herself against the wall, Grant’s mouth on hers. Her eyes widened as heat quickly pooled between her thighs. Had she gotten through to him? Had he chosen her over Garrett? A low moan escaped Grant’s throat. 

“Grant…”

“No, no talking.” he muttered, nipping at her neck. “Please, let me have this. Before he comes.”

Skye almost melted into his grasp. She had quite frequently imagined this moment, but not like this. Not in a Hydra cell with John Garrett lurking around the corner. But, that worry quickly melted away as her brain grew numb. She ran a hand underneath his shirt, toying with the waist of his pants. Their lips crashed together again as Grant hoisted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. 

She let out a gasp as Grant’s hand slipped underneath her shirt, feeling a rough finger at the bottom of her breast. Grant moaned again, kissing her over and over.

“I… I love you, Skye.” he managed to huff out. “I want… This… I want you…”

More heat pooled as Skye began to truly think that she had won him over, that she had broken through to him. She ran her hands through his thick, black hair as his growing stubble scraped at her lips. This was surely an interesting way to show it, but she definitely didn’t mind, though. If only she could get him out of here. If only- If only-

She pulled to her senses as she suddenly found herself on the cot. She looked up at Grant, his hair disheveled and his henley almost off of him. He looked down at her like he was a scared animal, pulling down his shirt before Skye could see, but it waa too late. She frowned noting the thick bandaging around the top of his torso. A hand went to his injured side. A pang from his ribs had pulled him out of his love-driven daze, pulling him back to what he really wanted in the moment. 

“Grant? What the hell?”

He shook his head and stepped back, “No, I can’t be doing this.” he stated coldly. “This was a fucking mistake. John’s right, you made me  _ weak _ .” He seemed to be in pain. In agony. He shook his head again, “I need to get back to him.”

Skye got up, but a sharp glare from Grant stopped her in her tracks, “And you stay right fucking there.” he hissed. “You’re wrong about Garrett, you know. He  _ does  _ care.” 

And with that, Grant stormed out of the cell, leaving Skye all alone and heartbroken.

She had sworn she had broken through to him. Or maybe it was just emotions and the heat of the moment that had caught up to him, causing him to do such a thing. Skye sat back down on the edge of the cot, not caring how wrinkled her shirt was or how messy her hair was. Her shoulders started to slump with the weight of the situation.

She still couldn’t get him to believe her. Even if she knew it would be hard for him to think about Garrett otherwise. But, at least she knew that he did love her, it was just hard for him to realize that she cared way more about him than Garrett ever would. 

And at this point Skye was afraid that it would take a disaster to get him to realize just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm gifting y'all with another update and it's quite a spicy one. But, it just shows how much of a hold Garrett still has on Grant, even if it's starting to break. That's why his mind is so all over the place right now. He's unstable as Garrett's hold is unravelling. And I will warn y'all that the next chapter is the big one. It'll probably take me a couple of days to write just so I can get it right since it's so big for Grant's psyche. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	11. Facing This Pain Like a Loaded Gun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fall.

(The Next Day)

Grant froze as he walked into the labs, finding Garrett yelling at some Hydra agent he didn’t recognize. It was about 9 in the morning. Grant hadn’t slept the night before due to his confrontation with Skye. He had tossed and turned all night and what little he did sleep involved nightmares of seeing Skye killed over and over or of finding Garrett drowning in his own blood. Grant was usually up at 5:30 sharp, but he couldn’t be bothered to be dragged out of bed this morning. Everything hurt and he felt like absolute shit.

And to top it off, Garrett was acting completely off the wall. It was like he had woken up to a completely different person. 

“You are supposed to keep SHIELD away from us, Ruiz!” Garrett screamed, practically inches away from the agent’s face. “You let your own team be captured by those rats! This is all your fucking fault!”

The agent, Ruiz, shied away from Garrett, “I-I’m sorry, sir.” he stammered. “But they overran us. I-”

The agent was cut off as Garrett suddenly pulled out a gun and slammed the butt of it into his temple, sending him crashing to the ground. Grant lurched forward as he noticed blood trickling out from the agent’s skull, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

He spun around to see Raina standing there, a frown on her face. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Grant frowned, “Then…” He drew a breath through clenched teeth, “What the hell was that?” he asked. “What the hell is going on with John? He seems… Different. And I think he just killed that agent!”

Raina sighed and motioned for him to come deeper into the lab. She led him over to a work area where she picked up an empty vial. “Do you know what this is, Agent Ward?” she asked.

Grant noted that the vial had  _ ‘GH Synth. 1.0’  _ scribbled on the side. “It’s empty. Isn’t that the stuff you got from Skye’s blood?”

She nodded, placing the vial down, “An incomplete dose. It was only half of what I needed, but Garrett decided to take matters into his own hands, I assume.” she explained. “I came in here this morning to find him acting like  _ that  _ . He administered the incomplete dose to himself. I guess he got desperate after what happened yesterday, but the dose isn’t enough to heal him. I told him that.”

A tremble shot through Grant’s body, remembering what Skye had said about what had Garrett in that ‘future’. That the serum had drove him insane. “But it was enough to make him lose it, right.” Grant began to walk away. “I’ll talk to him.”

He left the lab without waiting for Raina to respond. He cautiously approached Garrett, “John, what did you do?”

Garrett froze up and frowned turning to look at Grant. There was a crazed light in his eyes. “I taught him a lesson. He failed.”

Grant grimaced, “I don’t care about that, John. The serum. Why the hell did you take an incomplete dose?!”

“Because I don’t have the time to wait for Raina to finish. You saw what happened yesterday, son.” Garrett’s voice was strained. “As long as it keeps me stable, I-”

“It’s not enough to heal you!” Grant snapped. “Raina needed more from Skye to complete the dose! It isn’t going to do a damn thing for you.”

Garrett gave him a half-crazed smile, “Then, I need the rest, don’t I?” he asked, a strange waver in his voice. “Go get that girl of yours and bring her here. I’ll drain her dry to get what I need.”

Grant swallowed, his eyes flickering to a series of marks on the wall. His heart plummeted as he realized that it was the same markings from that place in Russia. The ones that Skye had warned him about. “John, what are those?” he asked, pointing at them.

“I don’t know myself, but I had to get those down.” he said, keeping his back to the markings. “I can see  _ everything,  _ Grant. They just came to me and they-”

“You’re doing exactly what Skye warned would happen!”

Garrett snarled at him, “And you’re believing that bitch’s words?!” he screamed. “I feel amazing, Grant! I just need more of it! Bring her to me!”

Grant held his ground, knowing that he didn’t want Skye in Garrett’s hands now. There had to be another way around this. There had to be a way to pull Garrett from this. “No, John. I won’t bring her to you. Yout could’ve waited a few more days for Raina to complete the dose and work out the kinks. You brought this upon yourself. You just made things worse! You-”

Grant was cut off as he suddenly found Garrett’s hand around his throat and was hoisted into the air. “What did I say about disobeying me, son?” he growled. “You do what I say and you bring the bitch to me.”

“I won’t-”

Garrett suddenly threw him to the ground and Grant let out a grunt as he felt something in his arm crack. He felt the gash on his cheek open up as Garrett knelt down and slammed his fist into it. He pulled the man to his feet without waiting for protest, “You do what I say and it’ll be much worse.”

Grant looked dead into his eyes, “This… This isn’t you, John.” He ignored the blood running into his mouth. “Please, wake up. We-”

“Go get her, Grant. I won’t wait around.”

Garrett stalked off and left Grant standing there, Raina watching curiously from the lab. Grant couldn’t let Skye fall into his hands now. She had to get out of here. 

He… He had to do something.

* * *

(Later)

Skye looked up as the cell door swung open and Grant stumbled into the cell. “Grant!” She shot towards him, seeing how horrible he looked. The gash on his face had reopened and there was dried blood all over his face. He held his left arm at a strange angle and she could tell that it was broken somewhere. 

She kneeled down next to him, “What happened?”

“Garrett… He… He took an incomplete dose of the serum. H-He’s gone mad.” Grant managed to get out, leaning against her. “He wants me to bring you to him so Raina can go ahead and give him another dose. I-I can’t let that happen.”

“Grant, I think you’re in shock. You-”

“I’ve sent a signal to Coulson.” he stated. “He should know our location. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but you need to hide.”

Skye’s face fell, “Grant…”

“I’ll go deal with Garrett. Find a place to hide until Coulson comes.”

“Grant, no. Leave him behind. We’ll both hide.”

Grant weakly shook his head, “No, I can’t do that, Skye.” He looked so tired. “I can’t leave him behind. I… I gotta find some way to help him. It’s that serum doing this.”

Skye swallowed, still holding Grant up, “Grant, the serum only made what was already there worse. Even Coulson wasn’t this bad.” she said softly. “Garrett was already like this.”

Grant started to pull away from her, “I still have to help him. I gotta repay that debt.” He turned and looked at her, “But you’re not safe, Skye. Go, run. Find a hiding place. I’ll deal with Garrett long enough for Coulson to come.”

“Grant, I’m not letting you go alone.” She frowned as he pulled himself to his feet. She stood as well, looking him dead in the eyes, “I’m not letting you give yourself up like this. I know that you care for him, but there has to be a line that’s drawn somewhere. I think he’s already gone, you just have to accept that, Grant. You’re drawing something out that should’ve ended a long time ago. Let him go. You don’t have to save him.” She approached him and reached out, placing a hand on his non-injured cheek, “Grant, I know that somewhere deep inside of you… You know of the monster Garrett really is. You haven’t seen yourself. You’re broken. Injured. All because of him. And it’s not the serum that’s done this. He’s been like this all along. The serum is just making it worse. Leave him behind, Grant. He’s not worth it.”

“I… I still have to try something, Skye. Stop him somehow. Keep him away from you. And maybe I can get through to him. He’s still in there somewhere.”

Skye frowned, knowing that it was no use in trying to convince him. 

Grant leaned in and kissed her ever so gently on the lips before pulling away. “Run, Skye. I’ll do something about him.” he said. A part of him knew that it was unlikely he would come back. But, he had to do something. He had to save the man that had saved him. “Hide where he can’t find you.”

And he was gone before Skye even had the chance to protest. She took a breath. She wasn’t going to hide. She was going to help Grant. She knew how to fight. She could find a weapon on the way there. 

She would kill Garrett if it was the last thing she ever did.

* * *

(Back in the Labs)

Garrett looked up with a frown as he saw Grant come back. Empty-handed. He stood to his feet, anger rising up, “Where the hell is she?”

Grant swallowed as he approached, “She got away from me, sir.” he lied. “She put up a fight. I can’t do anything with one working hand. I sent men after her. They’ll bring her back soon.”

Garrett cocked his head, “I know that you’re lying, son.” he stated coldly. “You let her get away, didn’t you?”

“Huh? John, I wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“Oh, you would.” He pointed to a bruise on Grant’s neck, “You’ve got your dick so far up into her that it isn’t even funny. You’re so horny for the girl that you can’t see straight. Clearly you care more for her than you do me.”

Grant’s body shook, “John, you know that I do care for you.” he began. “She’s important to me, but not as important as you. I wouldn’t let her go. Clearly she remembers some skills from that ‘future’. She overcame me because I’m injured, John. Don’t you see that? I wouldn’t let her go.”

“So why did one of my men intercept an outgoing signal to SHIELD?”

Grant’s body froze. He thought he had been discrete about that. “Sir, I-”

Garrett smiled and reached out, pulling Grant close by the collar of his shirt, “I know that you did that, son. You did that and told the bitch to hide so you could get her out of here, didn’t you?” His voice was laced with pure and utter anger. “Why the  _ fuck  _ would you do such a thing? And don’t lie. I taught you how to lie, son, I can see through every single lie you tell.”

“I… Something’s wrong with you, John.” Grant pleaded. “That serum did something to you. Y-You need to wake up. Please.”

Garrett’s smile grew, “That serum did nothing to me, boy. If anything, I feel better than I did before. I just need more of it to ensure that I’ll survive.”

“That serum’s breaking your mind, John!” Grant protested, trying his best to look the man in his cold, dead eyes. “Everyone here can see that! I got her out of here so she would survive! I came back to try and help you! You-”

Grant was suddenly flung to the ground, yelping out in pain as his broken arm shifted. 

“So you  _ did  _ rat me out you fucking pig!” Garrett screamed, suddenly looming over him. “After everything that I did for you, you end up choosing some little bitch?! Tell me why I shouldn’t just kill you right here and now?” He lowered his voice, staring down at Grant. He laughed, “Look at you, so pathetic. Letting love cloud your judgement. That’s weakness. You’ve done the very thing I’ve taught you not to do.”

“John, I’ve done every single thing you’ve told me to do.” Grant said. “I’ve always been loyal. I’m not turning my back on you here.” He was absolutely terrified. He found that he couldn’t move. Everything in his body hurt, days of being beat on finally catching up to him. “There just has to be some other way to save your life without putting Skye at risk.”

Garrett snarled, “If you really cared about me, you’d be more than willing to throw that girl aside for me. But, you aren’t. You let her get away and called SHIELD. That’s anything but loyal.” he hissed, raising his foot. “I could easily end your pathetic life with a single movement. Tell me one reason to why I shouldn’t do so.”

“Because you’re a fucking bastard and it should be the other way around.”

Garrett frowned, lowering his foot and turning to see Skye standing in the doorway, gun pointed right at him. He let out a loud laugh, “So the little bitch knows how to use a gun after all!”

“Leave him alone, Garrett. Grant’s done nothing wrong.” Skye stated, slowing making her way towards the man. This gave Grant the opportunity to scamper away from Garrett and get to his feet. “You should see that he cares for you. He loves you like the father he never had. He just wants to find a different way to save you that doesn’t involve me dying.”

“I don’t think you have a decision in this situation.” Garrett stated coldly, taking a step towards her. “You’re nothing. I don’t care if you saw the future or not.”

“Well, I think the future’s unfolding right in front of my eyes on the path we’re going.”

“So, what? You think killing me is the answer to everything? Sounds like I died in that ‘future’ of yours anyways and it ended up the way it did. Why would that fix that here?”

Skye frowned, keeping the gun trained on Garrett’s head. She had managed to beat down a guard and had taken it from him. Turns out her body did remember things from the future. “This isn’t about killing you, but I’m thinking about it.”

“Skye, put the gun down.” Grant swallowed and came over to her, noting how Garrett was just watching. Raina had also disappeared somewhere. He didn’t care at this point. “Put it down.”

“Grant, I’m the only one armed here and your SO is currently going insane. So-”

“Give me the fucking gun, Skye!” Grant screamed, rage and desperation shining brightly in his eyes. He reached out with his good arm. “This isn’t your place to stick your nose into. I told you to run.”

“Clearly I didn’t listen. And I wasn’t going to leave you alone with this psycho.”

“Give. Me. The. Gun.” Grant breathed out, snatching it from her. “You would’ve been  _ safe  _ if you just had listened. Now, you’ve just put yourself at risk.”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “And why should I listen to why you say?”

A vein bulged in Grant’s forehead, “Because I am your SO!” 

“The last I checked, you weren’t a SHIELD agent anymore,  _ Ward _ , so I don’t think that SO shit applies here.”

Garrett laughed, “Now, aren’t you two cute?” He took a few steps towards them, causing Skye to tense up. “She’s got guts, I’ll give her that. But, that isn’t the point here. I still need the rest of that serum. And I’m not taking any chances, so I’ll need all the blood and shit I can get from her. Meaning she’s better off dead for me.”

Grant whipped his head around and glared at Garrett, “John, there has to be some other way.”

“I’m tired of you skirting around the point, son. You heard me. I need her dead.” He pointed at her, “You want to prove your loyalty to me? Shoot her.”

The color quickly drained in Grant’s face, “I-I can’t do that.” he stammered. “I’m not doing that.”

Garrett’s face quickly twisted up and Grant suddenly found himself hoisted into the air again, unclear of how and when Garrett had crossed the space between them. Skye went to lurch forward, but a scared look from Grant stopped her. 

“If you’re too much of a pussy to do so, then I’ll do it myself!” Garrett flung Grant to the floor, the man’s head hitting the concrete with a resounding crack. The gun skittered across the floor after dropping from Grant’s hand. Skye started to run, but she suddenly found Garrett’s hand wrapped around her arm.

“Let go of me you asshole!” Skye screamed, trying to jerk her arm out of his grip. But his grip was vice-like, most likely made stronger by the serum’s effects. She swung with her free arm, planting a firm fist right into his nose. She smiled as she heard it crack, but she longed for the strength her powers had given her. If she were Daisy, she could’ve easily dealt with him with a single thrust of her hand. 

Garrett frowned, wiping the blood from his nose. “You little bitch.” he growled, tightening his grip on her arm to the point the circulation was beginning to be cut off. 

“Honestly, the broken nose is quite an improvement.”

He sneered, moving a hand to her throat, “I don’t wanna cause too much damage because Raina needs a lot to work with.” he stated coldly. “Can’t damage that pretty skin of yours.”

Grant moaned, trying his best to focus on Skye. But his vision was blurred and his head pounded. He had most likely gotten a concussion from hitting the concrete. “Skye.” he moaned, pulling himself towards the fallen gun. “Skye. Please.” He reached out towards the weapon with his good arm.

Garrett started to reach for Skye’s throat, but Skye shoved her knee straight into the man’s crotch. Garrett yelped out and dropped her. But, he quickly regained his posture and lunged towards her, “You fucking bitch!” he screamed, swinging at her. Skye managed to dodge his attacks. “I can do this all day, fuckhead!” she yelled. “I’m more experienced than you think I am!”

Garrett went to lunge at her again, but a gunshot pierced the air, disorienting Skye and stopping her in her tracks..

Her eyes widened as she saw Garrett slump to the ground, blood pooling from his gut. She immediately turned to see Grant, who was sitting up and trembling, a gun in hand. He looked pale. Like he was about to throw up. 

“No, no, no, no.” Grant repeated, dropping the gun. The fear had given him the adrenaline to briefly overcome his pain. He pulled himself over to Garrett, “John, wake up. I-I didn’t mean to.” Grant managed to pull himself to the man’s side as blood continued to pool underneath him. “I-I can fix this.”

Skye felt sick. Even in this moment, Grant was still conflicted over his loyalties. She slowly moved to where she could see the both of them.

Garrett looked up at Grant with glossed-over eyes. He laughed, blood bubbling on his lips. “I… I guess you care more for that bitch after all, don’t you?” he wheezed out.

“I-I didn’t mean to, John!” Grant screamed, his head swimming. He lifted the man’s shirt to see that the bullet had damaged the panel, the only thing keeping him alive. The unfinished serum had only been a buffer. “No, no, no, no.” he repeated over and over. “Raina!” he screamed. “Get in here! Please!” There was a tremble to Grant’s voice that broke Skye’s heart. Tears started to pool down the man’s cheeks, mixing in with the blood that stained his face. “J-John, just hold on! I’m sorry! I’m sorry.”

Garrett hiccupped, more blood coming up, “No, you’re not.” He smiled weakly, “Go fuck yourself…”

“Raina!” Grant screamed, his voice echoing in Skye’s ears. Skye wanted to pull him away, but not until she was sure that Garrett was fully dead. “Raina!”

But Raina never came.

Skye swallowed as she watched the light in Garrett’s eyes die out, signaling that the monster was finally dead.

“John?” Grant tried to shake Garrett awake. “John, speak to me. Wake up. You’re not dead. Wake up. C-Come back. D-Don’t leave me. Please.”

Tears fell to the ground, mixing in with Garrett’s blood. Skye watched as Grant’s shoulders slumped with the weight of the reality that Garrett was dead. That he had killed his own mentor to save her. But, he couldn’t reconcile with that fact. Not at all.

Skye began to run towards him as she saw the light in his eyes die. She hadn’t even saved Grant at all, she had only made things worse. 

Grant was already falling into a deeper hell than he had been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I promised that it would be a long one and it is. And a lot happened kind of all at once. But I promise that there is still several chapters left. Garrett's death is only the beginning of Grant's salvation. Now Skye (and the others) have to save him from himself. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	12. Oh, Are We the Only Ones?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.

Skye tried to approach Grant, kneeling next to him, but he immediately shoved her away. “Do something.” he growled. “Go find someone that can fix this.” He sat motionlessly on the floor, staring at Garrett’s lifeless body. He looked so tired.

“Grant.” Skye sighed and sat on the ground, showing him that she wasn’t going anywhere. “He’s  _ dead. _ He’s not coming back. The serum wasn’t strong enough yet to do a damn thing other than drive him insane.”

“This is your fault.” he muttered, still unmoving. 

Skye’s stomach did a double flip, “What?” She didn’t know what to say. “Grant, I-”

He looked at her with his dead, grief-filled eyes, “I told you to hide.” he stated coldly. “To wait for Coulson, that I would find a way to get Garrett back. But, you had to come in here and stick your nose into my business. And that got him killed.”

Grant wanted to place the blame onto her. He was refusing to believe that it was him and him alone that had gotten Garrett killed.

“Grant, he wanted me  _ dead.  _ I just wasn’t going to sit back and do absolutely nothing. Plus, you would’ve gotten killed if I hadn't intervened.”

Grant shot to his feet, his grief and anger masking the pain that he should’ve been feeling, “Better me than him, Skye. I could’ve found a way to save him, but you didn’t give me the chance.”

Skye slowly rose to her feet, “Grant, that man should’ve died a long time ago. He was dragging out the inevitable.” She sighed, “Look at you. You look like hell. I didn’t do any of that. Garrett did. He would’ve killed the both of us if you didn’t fire that gun. He wanted you dead, Grant. All because you wanted me far away from him. It’s better off this way.”

“I  _ killed  _ him, Skye.” Grant hissed, starting to sway on his feet. “Because you didn’t listen to me. I-I could’ve saved him. I failed him, Skye. I… I…” His eyes suddenly rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.

“Grant!” Skye shot towards him, kneeling next to his crumpled form. His breaths were ragged. She swallowed, remembering how his head had cracked against the concrete. That alone had probably dealt some serious damage. Then there was his arm and whatever the hell was wrong with the top of his torso. Most likely something to do with his ribs.

She had no idea to how long ago Grant had sent that signal to Coulson. Hell, she didn’t even know to where they were. So there was no telling to how long it would be until they showed up. She gently managed to place Grant’s head in her lap so it wasn’t laying on the cold, hard concrete. She frowned, noticing that the left side of his head was matted with blood. That had been where the concrete had hit. She took a sharp breath and reached for the gun that was only a foot away and grabbed it in case anyone came running in here. She hadn’t seen many agents around. Most likely because Garrett really hadn’t been Hydra. There had been a few assistants with Raina, but they were nowhere to be seen. 

Her heart clenched at the sight of him. He looked so weak and tired. Skye wasn’t sure of the last time he had slept and he had been walking around with injuries. How many injuries, Skye wasn’t fully sure of. His eye was still swollen. The gash on his cheek looked infected. His hair was matted with blood and it looked as though he hadn’t shaven in a few days. 

Garrett had done all of this to him and Grant still had fought tooth and nail to defend him, even after killing him to protect her. Skye feared to how he would react when he woke up and the full reality of the situation hit him.

Well, that was  _ if  _ he woke up. 

His head had hit the concrete pretty hard and it was still bleeding. She had terrified that it would cause more permanent damage. The last thing Grant needed was a traumatic brain injury on top of everything else.

She frowned, noticing his shallow, labored breathing.  _ “That bandaging… Garrett must’ve broken one of Grant’s ribs. Earlier might’ve made it worse.”  _ she thought. She looked up to the ceiling,  _ “I really hope that Coulson got that signal. Grant’s in bad shape. I think he was running on pure adrenaline alone. He’s crashed. If Coulson doesn’t come soon… I don’t think Grant will make it. _

_ I don’t want to move him. I think the bleeding from his head has stopped.”  _ She sighed,  _ “Grant, I can’t believe that Garrett did all of this to you and you still believed that he was your hero. How deep does Garrett’s claws go, Grant?”  _ She ran a hand through his blood-matted hair,  _ “I knew that it would be hard, but not this hard. But, Garrett’s dead. He’s gone. But, that doesn’t mean he won’t leave you alone. If you pull through this, there’s a long road ahead for the both of us.  _

_ I don’t know how things will progress. I don’t know how the future’s changed. The Inhumans still have to happen, don’t they? But, Coulson has to let you stay. You never becoming our enemy will save us from a lot of trouble. Grant…. I love you, I really do. And I know that you know that. You love me as well. But, I don’t think you fully realize to just how much. Please pull through, Grant. _

_ I can’t lose you yet.” _

* * *

(About An Hour Later)

Skye didn’t have to wait much longer. Coulson, the team, and several SHIELD agents came bursting into the room about an hour later. Coulson had immediately set course once Fitz had noticed the signal that Grant had sent. Upon seeing Grant’s broken form and Garrett’s lifeless body, Coulson had frozen in place momentarily, but immediately began to bark out orders. 

A team of medics had arrived a few moments later and carted Grant off out of the room. Skye had found out that Fury had sent a small armada with them to take the base. Several Hydra agents had already been arrested. Skye still wasn’t sure to why she and Grant had been left alone for the last hour. She had assumed that Garrett had previously ordered no one to bother him. 

“I’m fine.” Skye stated as a few medical agents tried to check her out. “I swear. All Raina did was take some blood. I’m fine. Grant’s the one that needs help.”

Coulson took a sharp breath, watching as a few agents carted off Garrett’s body in an unmarked body bag, “And where’s Raina now?”

“Gone. I haven’t seen her since Garrett went nuts.”

Coulson pursed his lips, still trying to read the scene, “So… What happened here?”

“Garrett took an incomplete dose of the serum that Raina managed to synthesize from my blood. It wasn’t enough to save him, but enough to drive him insane. Garrett wanted to drain me of my blood so he could get more of a dose. Grant contacted you and tried to get me to hide, but Grant would’ve died if I had listened. I came in to see them fighting. Garrett tried to attack me and Grant fired.” Skye took a sharp breath to steady herself, “Grant… He lost it once he realized what he had done. If he wakes up… He isn’t going to be right. He’s still conflicted between his love for me and his ‘love’ for Garrett. He… He was still trying to desperately defend Garrett, to convince himself that Garrett was that ‘good man’ that pulled him out of juvie 15 years ago.”

“From what you’ve told me about him…” Coulson nodded slowly. “It’ll be hard to pull him out of the mindset that John hammered into him. I had no idea of what was being done to Grant for years and John was one of my closest friends.” There was sadness in his voice. Coulson had lost a friend in Garrett’s betrayal and death. “I wish I could’ve seen it sooner, and… And maybe this could’ve been stopped.”

“Coulson, we didn’t know. There was no way that we could’ve known. I still don’t know to why that serum showed me what it did.” Skye refuted. “A blessing that it did, I guess. But, I feel like I could’ve done more. I-”

Skye was stopped as Coulson placed a hand on her shoulder, “You did what you could, Skye.” he stated softly. “Especially since we had so little time.”

She looked away, “He’s blaming Garrett’s death on me.” she whispered. “He told me that it was my fault because I didn’t listen to him. He told me that I didn’t give him the chance to try and save Garrett.”

Coulson sighed, his shoulders heavy, “That’s expected, I guess.” he replied. “Grant was so loyal to him, that he’ll even find a way to defend him after killing him.”

Skye swallowed, “Grant’s not going to be arrested, is he?”

“No.” Coulson stated with a shake of his head. “Fury’s already working with the government to weed out Hydra moles. He’s already pulled out a lot. But, I explained the situation to Fury and Fury will give him a chance as long as he helps with Hydra. Even if Garrett wasn’t technically Hydra, Grant’s bound to know things about the organization that we don’t. Fury’s assigning us to a secret base where we can hide out for a while. We’ll figure out what to do with Grant once he’s better. I’ll have a makeshift hospital set up in the base for him so he won’t be at risk at a SHIELD hospital. Hydra will be after him now. After us. Fury wants to make sure that we’re safe. We and a few select agents that Fury trusts will be assigned to this new base. To make sure that Hydra doesn’t infiltrate that. Skye, Fury’s crediting you with potentially saving SHIELD. He wants to talk to you some time.”

Skye shook her head, “Not until Grant wakes up. Not until I know that he’s okay, Coulson. I’m worried. Not just about his mental state… Garrett threw him to the ground and Grant hit his head against the concrete. I think it caused some damage. And he’s got a broken rib. I think it might’ve punctured his lung. And he’s got a broken arm. Garrett did some serious damage.”

“The doctors will evaluate him once he’s safely at the base. That’s where he’s headed now, Triplett and Fitzsimmons are with him. May’s dealing with the prisoners. I already expected one of the two of you to be in bad shape, but not like this.” Coulson paused, studying Skye for a bit, “You are okay, right? Don’t pull a Ward and lie to me, Skye.”

Her stomach hurt. She was tired and sore. But her pain couldn’t compare to what Grant was going through. She shook her head, not really sure of what to say.

“I will be if Grant’s okay. But until then? No, I’m not okay.”

In reality, she knew that it would be a long time until then. Even if Grant healed from his injuries soon, there was still the matter of his mental state.

They had only just begun climbing up the hill that was Grant’s recovery from Garrett. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blessing y'all with an early update today. So, Grant's far from good. Pretty much on death's bed because of Garrett and his mental state is a completely different story. Grant's road to recovery is only beginning. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	13. An Empire in Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye talks with May and has another vision.

(That Night)

Grant had immediately gone into surgery once he had gotten to the base, which was designated as the  _ Playground,  _ which definitely did not seem like an actual playground to Skye . A makeshift OR and medical room had been set up just for Grant. And to plainly put it, Grant was in  _ terrible  _ shape. 

Skye had almost lost it when Simmons had told her everything that was being done to him. He had to have cranial surgery to relieve swelling on his brain caused by the skull fracture. There was a definite concussion and a possible TBI, but they couldn’t tell yet. His broken rib had punctured his lung and he was on a machine to keep it inflated until it healed. His gash had been cleaned up and stitched up. His broken arm had been set and casted in a full arm cast. The doctors had said that there was a possibility that he wouldn’t wake up due to the possible brain injury and if he did, there was no telling what he would be like. The doctors didn’t know how the TBI would affect him. It was far too soon to tell. Especially on top of whatever psychological damage he had suffered. They just wouldn’t know until he woke up.

Now, Skye stood staring at Grant in his room. All sorts of tubes and wires were running into him. A tube ran into his side to keep his lung inflated. There was heavy gauze around his head and his casted arm was bound to his chest so he wouldn’t move it in his sleep. The doctors said that there was no telling how long he would remain comatose. Garrett had done far too much damage. 

She sat down, finding this all incredibly ironic. In the ‘future’, this had been Fitz. Comatose for two weeks. Brain damage from hypoxia. It was like changing the future had caused Grant to be the one to suffer instead. She wanted to crawl into the bed next to him and comfort him, even if he was comatose. She wanted to find Garrett in whatever circle of hell that he was burning in and make it a thousand times worse for him. She just couldn’t believe that one man could be so evil, that one man could take and manipulate an already-traumatized child and turn him into a monster.

No, Grant wasn’t a monster. He couldn’t help what Garrett had done to him. Garrett’s hold was so strong on him that he couldn’t run away. Garrett had made sure that he would still continue to suffer even after his death.

“I just wish I knew that the serum would work on him like it did with me.” Skye stated as May walked into the room. “But, I don’t know if he’s like me. It only worked on me because I’m not human. It drove Garrett insane.”

May frowned, watching Grant’s unconscious form, “I understand.” she stated quietly. “You wouldn’t want him to suffer the same fate Garrett did. For some reason, I can’t look at the man and imagine the same person that you said he became in the future that you saw. He isn’t a monster, just a beaten and broken man.”

Skye’s shoulders slumped, “I just wish that I could’ve done more, May. That I could’ve prevented him ending up like this.” she muttered. “But… I was outmatched by Garrett.”

May shook her head, “You did what you could do.” she stated. “Don’t blame yourself for Grant’s situation. That’s all on Garrett. Just be glad that he isn’t dead. Or whatever the hell he was going to do in that ‘future’ of yours.”

Skye rubbed at her eyes, “You know, something like this happened to Fitz in what I saw.” she began. “I think the future is rewriting itself, but playing off of what already happened.” She sighed, “But it’s happening to Grant now.”

“You said the Pod incident left Fitz with brain damage.”

“Yeah, that. He had a hard time forming his thoughts and expressing them. He couldn’t walk for a while and his hands trembled. Could the same thing happen to Grant?”

“Skye, technically, that ‘future’ never really happened. I don’t think it’s rewriting itself. You  _ prevented  _ all of that from happening. It’s just a coincidence that Ward ended up like this.” May took a sharp breath, “I called someone in that can help him once he wakes up. A psychologist who specializes in severe trauma.”

Skye perked up at that, “Who?”

“Dr. Andrew Garner. My, uh, ex-husband.”

Skye’s face fell in surprise, “You were  _ married _ ?!”

May shook her head, “Things got to be too much with SHIELD and what happened to me in Bahrain. It was a mutual agreement to end things. We’re still on good terms. But, this isn’t about me. I explained Ward’s situation to Andrew and he agreed to help. But… He said that it already sounded like Ward would be his worst case yet. He usually deals with abuse survivors and even soldiers with severe PTSD, but Ward has multiple layers of trauma that he’ll have to dig through. And the possible TBI isn’t going to help things either because that could also change his mental state. He says it’s going to take a long time for Grant to even get anywhere.”

Skye looked back to Grant’s broken and bleeding body, “I thought that pulling him with Garrett would be the chance.” she all but muttered. “But… It’s only the first step in things to come. I just hope getting him to side with us prevents what I saw from happening. It all stemmed from him. Like a domino effect.”

May placed a gentle hand on Skye’s shoulder, “Don’t worry about that anymore, Skye. Your worry is the present.” she stated. “We have both Ward’s recovery  _ and  _ Hydra to worry about. Stop worrying about things that could be. It isn’t going to help you. And besides, you really need some rest. Go sleep for a bit. Don’t wear yourself out.”

She left without another word. 

Skye took a sharp breath and drew her legs up into the chair. She continued to stare at Grant’s unconscious form, knowing that May was right. She needed to stop worrying whether or not that ‘future’ would still happen. Grant was her main worry right now. She leaned her head back and allowed herself to drift into a fitful sleep.

* * *

  
  


Skye only slept for a couple of hours, but her dreams were plagued with nightmares. 

She saw Grant rising from his bed, a dead look in his eyes as he tore his lifelines from him. He had looked dead at her before Hive’s parasites came spewing out of his mouth and engulfed her before flames erupted from Grant’s eyes, burning him away. 

She saw her mother laying on the floor, bugs crawling out of empty eye sockets. Triplett crumbling into pieces of rock over and over and over. 

The dreams quickly shifted to things she couldn’t tell whether or not if they were nightmares or something much stranger. She saw Grant crying as he stumbled over his words, just like Fitz had done in that ‘future’, growing frustrated as he couldn’t form a coherent sentence. He raged and screamed as he found that he could no longer fire a gun accurately because his hands shook far too much. Screams long into the night as he awoke from night terrors. Him threatening to kill other agents all because they looked at him the wrong way. A knife to his wrists as he screamed that he couldn’t take it anymore. Blood falling onto cold concrete. Flames bursting from his skin as he spiraled into another rage-filled fit.

They shifted again to something much lighter. Grant smiling as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Him laughing as Fitz got frustrated with a board game. Cheers and smiles as Grant pointed at something on the TV; something celebrating the two of them. Hands intertwined with rings gleaming in the sunlight. A small boy with Grant’s features reaching up for her as he called her ‘Mama’.

Skye jerked awake in a cold sweat. She stared at Grant’s still-unconscious form, the only sounds in the room being the slow beep of the heart monitor and the whir of the machine keeping his lung inflated. She ran a hand down her face, trying to decipher the meaning of the dream. Even though she knew the first part had only been a nightmare, mocking her fears of that ‘future’, the other parts felt all too real.

She looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that only two hours had passed, even though it felt like it had been way longer. She ran a hand down her face,  _ “What the hell?”  _ she thought. She swallowed,  _ “No, that felt way too real. It wasn’t as coherent as that ‘future’ was, but… That… That was real.”  _ It had to be another vision showing her how things were going to progress, even if they had only been flashes. But, they seemed right, despite how she had seen Grant suffer in the same way Fitz had done. She tried to ignore the image of flames bursting from his skin, though, not wanting to even begin to guess what that meant. 

The last part, though… She didn’t even want to think about it, even if it was hopeful. It seemed out of place, strange given Grant’s current situation. Her mind was fixated on what she had seen of Grant suffering. Her heart twisted up, still hearing his cries of how he wanted to die echoing in his ears. It hadn’t been about missing Garrett though. He had wanted to die because he was broken. Weak. 

She shook her head to get that thought out of her head and stood up, dragging the chair over next to Grant’s bedside and sat back down. She gently took his free hand and brought it to her lips,  _ “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Grant. That serum did something to me. I’m worried about you more, though.”  _ she thought.  _ “Looks like you’ll wake up, but you won’t be the same again. I’m sorry this happened, Grant. I wish I could’ve saved you from Garrett sooner. He still found a way to fuck you over in the end. I wish I could fix this.” _

She gently placed his hand back down, looking at his face. It was clean-shaved. The doctors had shaved him while preparing him for surgery. He looked so young and so old at the very same time. He just looked so frail. Garrett had done this to him and Skye was glad that the man was now rotting deep in hell for it. 

“Even if I prevented the ‘future’, this still isn’t right, Grant.” she whispered.

“I wish this had ended up differently. Not like this. I’ll find a way to make it right, Grant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to go ahead and update this again today. And it's quite a lot. Skye sees yet another vision of the future, seeing how Grant will be affected. But, there's hope at the end. It's kind of her realizing that the 'future' is still kind of happening, but in its own twisted way. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	14. My Mind, Breaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye sees what has become of Grant.

Six long days passed before Grant woke up. But, his awakening was far from what Skye had hoped it to be.

She wasn’t allowed to see him. As soon as Grant had become coherent, he had immediately tried to attack the doctors around him, rage quickly taking him over. He screamed for Garrett to come back, demanding that the doctors bring him back. He had to be restrained and sedated so he wouldn’t hurt himself even more. The doctors wanted to ensure that he was fully stable before allowing any of the team in. They also had a lot of tests to run to determine the extent of his brain injury. They had already noted a decrease in his ability to express what he wanted to say. He couldn’t turn his thoughts into words properly, the very thing that Skye had feared. 

“It’s called dysphasia. Or Broca’s aphasia.” Simmons explained the next day, looking at Skye. “In his case, it’s an inability to process thought into spoken language. He’s thinking clearly as far as they can tell, but he isn’t able to properly express it verbally. There’s a disconnect between his thoughts and words. It’ll seem like he forgets words. He also stumbles over his words quite a bit. It may clear up in time, but he’ll have to work through it. It doesn’t seem as severe as it could be, though.”

Skye swallowed, looking away with red-rimmed eyes, “Anything else?” she asked, not really wanting to know. She really didn’t want to mention to Simmons that this was the exact same thing that had happened to Fitz in the ‘future’

“His free hand trembles a good bit. It’s hard for him to eat by himself because of it. Scans have shown moderate damage to his frontal lobe, explaining the aphasia and motor issues. He’s also showing fairly extreme mood swings, but they’re not sure if that’s due to his mental issues or not. Dr. Garner hasn’t been able to examine him yet.” Simmons explained. “They don’t want anyone new in there until Ward’s calmed down.”

“Then I should be able to see him.”

Simmons shook his head, “Skye, no. He’s unstable. He could attack you. Especially since you said that he blames you for Garrett’s death.”

“But, he still saved me though. He told me that he loves me.” Skye protested. “Him seeing me should help him in some way.”

Simmons took a sharp breath, “I’ll talk to Coulson about it.” she stated. “Yes, it might help, but he’s still too unstable at the moment. He’s still trying to process the fact that Garrett’s dead. I think he refuses to believe that it's his fault.”

Skye shook her head, "Simmons, I have no idea what he was thinking then. He was so back and forth between me and Garrett that I couldn't tell what he really wanted. I know that he loves me, but I think he loved Garrett so much more."

Simmons pursed her lips, “That’s why he’s unstable, Skye.”

“Look, Simmons, I think he needs to see me. I can’t wait for Coulson to give me the all clear.” Skye protested. “If he’s restrained, I should be fine.” She started to push past the biochemist, “I don’t need permission to see him.”

“Skye-”

“I said what I said, Simmons. I’m going to see him now. It’s been a whole fucking week since I was last able to talk to him and I’m not going to wait another damn minute.”

Skye didn’t wait for Simmons to say anything else, she just pushed onto the medical area. Where, of course, she was stopped by a doctor right outside of Grant’s room. If she strained her neck, she could see Grant sitting up and staring off into space.

“He’s not supposed to have any visitors right now.”

Skye frowned, “And you are?”

“I’m Dr. Kirkwall.” the doctor replied. “The one in charge of Agent Ward.”

“Then you should know who I am.”

The doctor sighed and pushed up his glasses, “Yes, I do know who you are to Agent Ward, Miss Skye.” he replied. “I was specifically told not to let you in by Agent Coulson since Ward is so volatile right now. He attacks whoever tries to get close to him. He’s been relatively calm today, though. I think things are starting to set in for him.”

“Then I should be able to talk to him. He needs a familiar face.”

“Well, he wouldn’t really be able to talk back.” Dr. Kirkwall frowned, “You do know what’s wrong with him, right?”

Skye held back her anger towards the doctor, “Yeah, Simmons explained it to me. Some kind of aphasia.”

“That’s correct, Broca’s Aphasia. Specifically affecting his speech ability. The force of his skull fracture caused moderate damage to his frontal lobe. Specifically Broca’s Area, the area responsible for translating thought into speech. He is thinking clearly as far as we can tell, but he is unable to properly translate his thoughts into a verbal form. We are also unsure of other effects the damage has on him. Personality changes are also common in frontal lobe injuries, but I am unfamiliar with Agent Ward, so I cannot say if that has happened. His emotions are also rather unstable, but I am also unsure if that is due to the TBI or a traumatic psychological breakdown. Possibly a bit of both. It also affected the motor function in his hands, causing them to tremble.”

Skye’s lips twitched, remembering Fitz’s plight in the ‘future’, “How long until he’s better?”

Dr. Kirkwall frowned again, “I don’t think that ‘better’ is the correct term. Yes, he’ll progress over time, but he will fully never be himself again.” he answered. “He can go through speech therapy and occupational therapy for the TBI and physical therapy for his arm once it’s free of the cast, but that’ll only temper things. A buffer of sorts. He’ll never be back to what you would consider ‘normal’. For now, he’ll have to learn how to rely on others for help and from what I have heard, that is something he isn’t going to take too kindly to.”

Skye swallowed, looking back at Grant’s still-unmoving form, “Yeah, he was always pretty, uh, solitary in his day to day life.” she stated. “He didn’t like help. He liked doing things all on his own.”

“He’ll have to learn differently. He’ll need help with self-care activities like dressing, bathing, and even eating for a while. At least until that cast comes off, which won’t be for a couple more weeks. When it’s off, he’ll be able to buffer himself out with both hands. The OT should be able to help with the fine motor movements being affected by his tremors. Speech therapy can help improve the stuttering. But unless he gets some crazy out of this world miracle, he’ll never be a hundred percent again. The only thing that’ll heal fully is his arm, rib, and lung. The tube in his lung will be coming out tomorrow and he’ll be in here for at least a couple more days.. But, I most definitely can’t say about his mental state, but I understand that Agent May has someone coming in.”

“Yeah.” Skye muttered. “Can I go see him?”

Dr. Kirkwall took a sharp breath, “I assume that it won’t hurt as long as you allow me to stay in the room to monitor his behavior. I’ll have a sedative on standby in case he reacts violently.” he answered. 

“Good.” 

Skye steadied herself and walked in, finding that Grant was staring at the wall. His head was no longer heavily bandaged and she could see where the left side of his head was shaved, a stapled-up scar that was about four inches long started from about his temple to the middle of his head. His left arm was still bound to his body, but he wasn’t restrained. The gash on his cheek was neatly stitched up and the once-purple bruises were a greenish color. He looked a good deal better.

“Grant.”

Grant immediately turned his attention to her, a light starting to shine in his dull eyes. Skye braced herself for him to lash out at her over Garrett’s death, but it never came.

“S-Skye.” he stammered, quickly reaching for her with his free hand, but he was stopped by his IV line. 

Skye smiled and pulled up a chair next to his right side, receiving an unapproving gaze from the doctor. “How’re you feeling?” she asked softly, gently taking his trembling hand.

“Ah…” Grant scrunched up his face as he fought for his words. “Hurt.”

She nodded, “You were beat up pretty badly, Grant. I thought we were going to lose you there for a while.”

“W-What wrong?” He took his right hand and pointed at himself, clearly already growing frustrated with his words. Skye noticed that he was completely leaving words out. 

“Garrett hurt you really bad, Grant.” Skye started to explain. “It did some damage to your brain and it affected the way you’re able to talk.”

Grant’s face twisted up, “They… They look at me like I’m uh, uh…” He frowned, tears building up in his eyes, “Pieces.”

Skye swallowed, realizing that she had never truly seen Grant like this. “Broken?” she asked, knowing what he meant. 

He nodded, “I can’t.” His frown quickly grew and he stared down at his lap, growing quiet and not finishing what he was going to say.

Skye casted a quick glance at the doctor, seeing that he was taking notes, before looking back at Grant, “Grant, it’s okay. This… This will take time.” she said. “You’re not broken, you’re just injured. We’ll all help you through this. You don’t have to worry.”

Grant continued to stare at his legs and eventually did open his mouth. “Sorry.”

“Huh?” Skye frowned again. “For what?”

Grant looked at her, tears still shining in his eyes, “For, uh… Screaming.” His frown returned once more. “B-Before this.”

“Oh.” He meant for when he yelled at her, screaming that it had been her fault for Garrett’s death. She was surprised that he remembered that.

“Grant, you don’t have to apologize. You were upset. It’s understandable that you got angry.”

“I want him b-back.” Grant stammered, staring off into space. “Do that.”

Skye shook her head, “Grant, I can’t bring him back. He’s dead. I don’t even know what SHIELD did with the body.” she tried to explain. “Garrett’s gone. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“He never, ah, hurt me.”

“Grant.” Skye pointed at him. “Garrett did all of this to you. He’s the reason why it’s hard for you to talk to me. He did hurt you. All of this is his fault, Grant. He’s the reason you almost died.”

It looked like gears were churning behind his eyes, “He wouldn’t…” He trailed off, not sure of how to continue. He remembered Garrett flinging him to the floor. The way his skull cracked as it met concrete. Garrett wouldn’t have done that if he had truly cared about him, right?

“Grant, I know that it’s hard for you to process. It’s going to take time to believe otherwise.” Skye said quietly. “But, I’ll help you through it. The entire team will, Grant. I want you to get through this. I know I haven’t formally told you this, but I do love you.”

Grant looked at her, a different light in his eyes. At that moment, he seemed a little lighter, forgetting about his current situation. But, he didn’t respond. He was afraid that he would stumble over his words, making a fool out of himself just by trying to tell Skye that he loved her too. 

But, Skye didn’t need him to respond. She knew that he loved her with every last fiber of his being. He got into this situation partially because he had tried to protect her. She didn’t need him to prove it anymore. He needed to worry about himself first. Especially since he had a long way to go with recovery.

With freeing himself from Garrett’s clutches.

But, the light quickly died away in his eyes and a part of Skye was afraid that Garrett had already won. Garrett had left Grant broken and battered, a shell of his former self. She could tell that Grant already felt useless because of his injuries and his mental state did not help at all. Dr. Garner had yet to come to start chipping away at Grant’s trauma. 

Skye was terrified that she would still lose Grant in the end.

Perhaps Grant’s true enemy now wasn’t Garrett.

Maybe it was Grant himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I did give Grant Fitz's storyline from late s1/early s2. It's kind of a 'time fully can't be changed' thing. Skye thinks she's changing things since she thinks it was just a vision, but they're happening in their own way. And I'll definitely firmly deal with Grant's mental issues (unlike the show actually did). Any guesses of what's to come? And I need comments, guys! I need to make sure I'm going on the right track here, especially since this chapter took a lot (mainly a lot of research on aphasia) to write! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	15. You Thought the Worst was Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye starts to help Grant.

(Three Days Later)

Grant was let out of the medical area three days later. The doctors thought him well enough to walk around with evaluation. Skye had immediately campaigned Coulson to allow her and Grant to share a room. Especially since Grant was already suffering from intense night terrors. Skye knew that Grant would feel a lot safer with her nearby as well.

A part of Skye didn’t like the idea of being Grant’s caretaker, but another part of her felt like she was obligated to do so. She always blamed herself for things that were far out of her control. She blamed Grant’s injuries on herself, but she knew if she had listened to Grant he would be dead. Her intervening at least saved his life, even if he ended up with life-changing injuries. She wanted to help him. She wanted to help fight his greatest enemy.

Himself.

Despite just being let out of the medical area, Grant was already falling into a deep depression and, honestly, Skye couldn’t blame him. Grant was once a legendary agent. Someone who could talk his way out and into any situation. Someone who could live in the wilderness for weeks on end all by himself. Now he stumbled over his words, his silver tongue long gone. He had to rely on others for the smallest of things. He was now merely a shell of what he once had been.

“Grant, you have to eat.” Skye begged, sitting next to Grant in the small kitchen area of the Playground. She picked up some of the eggs she had made for him with a fork and brought it near him. “Please.”

Grant turned his head away from the fork just like a stubborn child. “I-I can do it.” he stammered. “Don’t want you. No help.”

Skye frowned, handing him the fork, “Alright, let me see you try.” she said, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to do so. Her frown grew, watching as the fork shook in his hand. He slowly reached for the eggs, but his face twisted up as the eggs fell off the fork from the force of the tremor in his hand.

He threw the fork down, “Fuck!” he screamed, tears quickly welling up in his eyes. He looked down to his lap. 

“Grant,” Skye began, getting up to go get another fork. “It’s going to take some time. Let me help you until then. You haven’t even started OT for your hands yet. You need to eat so you can keep up your strength. You have to eat in order to heal.”

“Not h-hungry.” he muttered, keeping his gaze away from her. “Don’t want it.”

“Grant, if you eat, you can keep up your strength in the gym.” Skye stated. “I know that you’re down to one arm right now, but you can still work out. You don’t need to let yourself waste away.”

“I want… That…”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “What? To waste away?”

“Die.”

Skye’s face quickly fell, her heart twisting up, “Grant, don’t be like that.” she whispered, looking dead at him. “You’ll get better.”

Grant shook his head, clenching up his fists the best he could, “No.” he muttered. “I’ll always be… Pieces….”

She quickly reached for his free hand, “Grant, don’t be like this, please.” she said softly. “I know that it’s difficult, but that doesn’t mean you’re broken. Yes, you’ll be different for a while, but that’ll get better. You might not be a hundred percent again, but we’ll all help you get better, Grant.”

“I wanna be… Out there.” Grant continued. “Punching. Shooting them.” Skye knew what he meant. He wanted to be out in the field fighting Hydra. Probably wanting to get vengeance for what was done to him by Garrett. Even if they hadn’t technically been Hydra, he still knew all about the organization. 

“Grant, you’re not going to be able to do that for a long time. You can help in your own way, though. Once Dr. Garner comes and evaluates you, Fury wants you to be an informant of sorts.” Skye explained slowly. “To give SHIELD information about Hydra.”

Grant shook his head, “Words not work.” His face scrunched up again as he realized that his words hadn’t come out right. 

Skye pursed her lips. She knew that he knew that he wouldn’t be able to fully explain anything of what Fury would want from him. But being an informant was the only way Fury wouldn’t arrest him for treason. Fury wasn’t realizing the extent of Grant’s situation. He wouldn’t be able to write information either due to his tremors. 

“It’s going to take time. Coulson’s bringing in people to help you. You’ll have a full team of professionals in addition to us that’ll be helping you. You’re not alone. Don’t think of it as you being broken, think of it as a challenge you have to overcome. You’re a survivor, right? Can you prove that?”

Grant looked ahead, staring at the fridge for a while. He remained silent. Skye reached out and wiped a piece of egg off of his face. He flinched slightly as her fingers met his skin. 

“Grant, I’m sorry that this happened. I wish that I could’ve done more.” she whispered, turning his face towards her. Her eyes lingered on the stapled scar on the side of his head. 

He shook his head, “You… No blame.”

“You don’t blame me for anything? Not even Garrett’s death?”

He flinched again, a haunted look forming in his eyes, “I shot. H-He hurt you.” he stammered. “Ah, I-I did….”

She frowned once more, realizing that Grant had realized what he had done, blaming himself for Garrett’s death. He was no longer transferring the blame onto her. He knew what he had done and had realized that he had done so because Garrett was hurting her. But, he still couldn’t process that it was the completely right thing. 

“Grant, you did that to  _ save  _ me.” she stated. “If Garrett wasn’t a monster, he wouldn’t have tried to kill me for his own gain. He pushed his life far past when he should’ve died. It’s better that he’s gone, Grant. He did this to you. He’s the reason why you think you’re broken. He’s the reason why your hands shake and you can’t talk like the way you want. He’s the reason why you wake up screaming in terror at night. He never cared for you. He had placed you on a path of no return. If all of this had continued and we hadn’t realized what he had done to you, you would’ve become a monster. And you wouldn’t have any of us. We would all hate you.”

Grant blinked and just stared at her. He remained quiet once more. 

“Grant, the next God knows how long is going to be rough. Not just for you, but for all of us.” Skye continued. “We have Hydra to deal with, too. We’re just lucky that I had that vision or whatever the hell it was. And that I had the time to tell someone about it.” She didn’t want to put herself up on some kind of pedestal for it, though. Even if SHIELD was crediting her for the outing of Hydra, she didn’t want that kind of attention. Fury kept it quiet that it had been anyone on Coulson’s team, even if he had still sent them to a secret base for protection. 

She took a sharp breath, deciding to change the topic before Grant got upset again. She looked at his unfinished eggs, “Are you going to finish your eggs or do you want something else?” she asked. She would have to ask his doctor what she could do to get him to eat. Even if that meant putting him on a tube or something. He refused to eat because he didn’t want help, but he couldn’t eat himself.

Grant shook his head. 

“Grant, you’re going to have to eat something. You’re a big guy. You’ve got a lot of muscle to keep up, so you need to eat. Even if I have to force-feed you protein shakes or something. You’re going to waste away. And don’t tell me that’s what you want. I almost lost you, I don’t want to lose you again, Grant. I know that what you’re going through is painful, but you will get through it. Don’t give up now.”

She leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. He looked up at her and gave her the briefest of smiles before looking away again. She wanted to make sure that he knew that he was loved, that someone cared for him. But, she wasn’t sure of how much he was processing it at the moment.

Honestly, she really didn’t know what was going on in his head. She knew that he felt worthless and even stupid because of his injuries. But his thought process about Garrett was something she still couldn’t decipher. Skye knew that a part of him realized and understood that Garrett had been the one to hurt him, but he couldn’t fathom to  _ why  _ he would do such a thing. Grant still couldn’t realize that Garrett was never the good guy. 

And Skye feared that he would never truly realize that. 

Grant had a long way to go before he could even be considered any better. And a part of Skye feared that this new future would be far worse than the one she had prevented. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so we'll start to really delve into Grant's mental state in the next chapter. This chapter was really more of Skye's mental state if you will with her blaming herself for what happened to Grant, even though there was nothing she could really do. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	16. You Lie Awake Under the Weight and Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew comes.
> 
> TW for this particular chapter: Talks of suicide and suicidal thoughts.

(The Next Day)

Dr. Garner had come that day and had spent 3 hours in a session with Grant, one of which Grant had come out crying and then had proceeded to completely shut down. Skye, with the help of Fitz and Trip, had managed to get him back to their room before she had gone with Coulson to discuss the results of the session with Dr. Garner.

“Therapy is going to be difficult for Grant since he is not fully able to explain things on his end.” Andrew began, looking at the two of them. “He also shuts down when I try to touch on something he doesn’t want to talk about. I think it’ll be a good while before I have definitive diagnoses for him, but I have a rough guess right now.”

Coulson took a breath, “And they are?”

“Most of these are probably not surprising to you, but it’s a good bit. He’s suffering from clear Stockholm Syndrome, even if it has begun to break some. He’s still trying to find ways to defend John Garret despite everything that has happened. PTSD. Clinical depression. Derealization and depersonalization.” He shrugged, “No evidence of any personality disorders, though. I believe his mood swings are due to the TBI, but it is still too early to truly tell. 

Grant is a difficult case. I do work with a lot of trauma patients, but his case is extraordinary in particular.” he continued. “There’s layers I have to work with. You have his childhood, Garrett, then his injuries. I feel like Garrett is something I should touch on last, though. But, regardless, it’s going to take a long time. I don’t want to overdo it, but I’m suggesting at least 3 times a week. He’ll be a full team effort. Each and every one of you will have to play some part in his recovery. He’s a very complicated case and the TBI doesn’t make it any easier.”

Coulson frowned, “Do you think that he’ll ever be better?” he asked. He felt sick. How could’ve he missed this? How could’ve he missed the monster that Garrett was? This could’ve been prevented if he just had seen what was really happening.

Andrew shrugged, “It’s really hard to tell how his recovery will go. It’s all dependent on his cooperation. I think a part of him does realize what Garrett did to him, but there’s another, much larger part that still wants to defend Garrett’s actions. That’s the Stockholm. From what I can tell, Grant never had a true father figure in his childhood. Sons often latch onto their fathers and if his mother was also neglectful like you say, he never had a true parent. You put a kid like that in juvie and this man comes offering him a way out, of course he’s going to take it. I think Grant longs for acceptance and that’s what he got in a way from Garrett. Grant’s psychologically underdeveloped mind latched onto Garrett, seeing him as a ‘father’. And by the time Grant could truly realize that something was wrong, it was too late and Garrett had already twisted him.”

He sighed, “Grant needs support. Someone that’ll accept him for who he is.” he continued. “Continuous acceptance. I think Garrett gave him a purpose and that’s why he latched so strongly onto him. You need to make Grant feel like he belongs.”

“That’s one hell of a psychoanalysis for the first session.” Skye stated, not really sure of what to say.”

Andrew smiled slightly, “That’s why I have a job.” he answered. “I wouldn’t have one if I wasn’t good. Grant’s definitely an interesting case. Someone like him… I would recommend being in a facility where he’s under constant surveillance.”

“So you think he’s insane?”

“No, no! That’s not what I’m saying at all. He’s not a psychopath, even if that term is technically not a true diagnosis at the point. If his situation was different, I would definitely recommend him for admittance where he can be firmly watched without distraction. I… I have marked him for suicide watch already.”

Skye’s face fell, even though it really wasn’t a surprise. Grant had told her that he wanted to die yesterday. But it still hurt her to hear that he was actually being labeled as suicidal. 

“He hasn’t expressed the want to do so just yet, but with the amount of trauma and change he’s going through, it’s highly likely.” Andrew continued. “But with his given situation… He’ll have to stay here since going somewhere more public isn’t an option. He’ll need to be watched. Anything you think he can use as a weapon, don’t let him near it.”

Coulson almost laughed, even though he didn’t find it funny at all, “You do realize that Grant’s a highly-trained assassin. Almost anything he can get is a weapon in his hands.” he stated darkly. “There’s a story of him taking out a target with just a tiny nail. Imagine what he could do to himself.”

Andrew’s face fell, “Then, he’ll have to be monitored at all time. Make sure that he isn’t alone. I know it isn’t the most ideal of jobs, but it’ll be a full team effort. No one person can fully take care of him. Always reassure him that he’s not broken. Reassure him that it’ll be okay. If you suspect he’s about to fall into an ‘episode’, try to find something that he enjoys. Distract him from his worries.”

Skye frowned, “I don’t even know what he likes. Other than board games.” she stated. “He never really expressed any interests. Hell, I don’t even think I really know him, to be honest.”

“Well, take this time to get to know him. Find out what he likes” Andrew stated. “Do whatever it takes to distract him. Don’t give him the time to think about his situation. I can already tell that he’ll be a difficult case. I’ll need your help with his recovery. If he has supportive friends, then it’ll help drastically. I’ll work on figuring out medicine next time, that’s not in my specialty. I’ll bring someone in to help with that. Especially since he’s on other medication for his arm and tremors.”

Skye looked away, knowing that Andrew was right. But, it was truly a matter of whether or not Grant accepted their help. Grant didn’t even like the prospect of her helping him to eat. He was able to shower and could just barely get himself dressed, but anything else was out of his ability. And he absolutely resented that. 

She just had to hope that he would come to learn how to accept their help.

* * *

(Later)

“Grant, it’s time for bed. You need to shower.”

Grant just barely lifted his head up, “This morning.”

“You showered this morning?”

He nodded shakily. He had been curled up on their bed since his first session with Andrew earlier. This was the first time she was able to get through to him since managing to get him to eat an hour before. 

Skye sighed, assuming that it was okay. He hadn’t done anything strenuous to make him sweat or anything. “Fine. But you need to get up and get ready for bed. It's getting late.” she stated, walking over to him. “Can you do that?” She helped him sit up and he got to his feet.

“Yeah.”

He walked over to the dressed, managing to get his shirt off and handed it to Skye. She tried to avert her eyes, but couldn’t help but to look. But, she knew that Grant wouldn’t mind. With his shaky hand, he unbuttoned his jeans and unzipped them, taking them off and letting them rest on the floor. “I, ah, good.”

Skye frowned, noting that he was just in his underwear. “You’re going to sleep just in your boxers?” she asked as he scratched at his cast.

“Hot.”

“It’s because you’ve been crying all afternoon, Grant.” She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Just be sure that your cast is okay since it’s not in your sling. Go brush your teeth, I’ve already gotten ready.”

Grant frowned, noticing that she was indeed in a tank top and a short pair of cotton shorts. He hadn’t noticed her getting ready. “Okay.” 

Skye watched as he walked into the small bathroom. She was glad that he was able to do self-care tasks like that, even if she did have to help him button his pants and tie his boots. He also needed reminding to do smaller things, but she didn’t mind. Helping him gave her something to focus on, helping her forget about the ‘future’. 

Grant was relatively calm right now and she assumed it was due to him being exhausted. He just didn’t have the strength to do that much, so he was compliant. But, it wouldn’t always be like that, though.

“Done.”

She looked to see him coming out of the bathroom, scratching at his cast again. He came over to her, “Sleepy.” he stated. She noticed that he tried to keep to one or two word phrases. Probably because he couldn’t mess those up all that much.

“Are you going to get up early?” she asked, reaching out and running a hand through his hair.  _ “I need to cut this, even it out.”  _ she thought.  _ “At least get the sides to match.” _

He nodded, “Want to, uh, gym.”

“You want to work-out?”

He nodded again, “Yeah.”

She looked at his abs, “Well, you’ve got to keep up those abs of steel up somehow.” she stated. “Just be careful, though. Don’t do something that you don’t think you can do, Grant. Don’t hurt yourself. Okay?”

“Okay.”

He got closer to her and wrapped his good arm around her, drawing her close. He wasn’t good at expressing his love for her verbally, but he could show it physically. And he didn’t have to say anything, though. This was good enough for her. She knew that he loved her.

She led him over to the bed, helping him get in and nuzzling her head against his bare chest, ignoring the weight of his cast on top of her. She didn’t mind. Truly, she just wished that it would stay like this all night, the two of them wrapped in one another’s arms peacefully.

But, she knew that it wouldn’t stay like this. It would end as soon as Grant would drift off asleep.

The nightmares would soon overcome him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Andrew comes to start with Grant's therapy and a little more exposition between Grant and Skye. It's not much, but I promise more will happen soon. Any guesses of what's to come? (And please leave a comment! I think a lot of y'all didn't see the last chapter due to the email issue, so I want to make sure who's seeing it.) Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	17. Like You Could Ever Float

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant snaps and Skye realizes something about herself.
> 
> TW: Suicidal Thoughts.

(Three Days Later)

Grant walked over to the weight rack in the gym, placing down a weight he had been using for his right arm. He was glad that he was able to find exercises that he could do. He could still work on his legs, core, and right arm. Working out provided a relief of sorts for him; it took his mind off of current things and allowed him to relax for a while. Skye had even left him alone for just a bit, which he was actually kind of thankful for.

Even though he absolutely loved her, he didn’t want her constantly all over him. He could do things himself. He knew that everyone was afraid that he would try to hurt himself. Yes, he wanted to die, but he wanted to show some kind of restraint. To prove that he wasn’t broken. And working out was something that he enjoyed. Skye had been helping him find things he could do. She had found that he really enjoyed fitness and reading. And that he absolutely loved dogs, but he hadn’t told anyone that other than her. Fitz had remembered him loving board games and had showed up the day before with an arm full of different games before goading both Grant and Triplett into a game of cards.

Grant liked working out because it was solitary. He could do everything here by himself because he knew not to overexert himself. If he started to hurt, he stopped. He kept to his right arm and made sure that his cast was in a sling. The gym was one of the only places he felt like he could be himself. And he definitely didn’t want to lose his physique. He had already lost some muscle mass due to being in that coma. Hell, everyone was surprised that he was already able to do this much this soon after waking up. Skye had even started to call him ‘Robot’ again.

But, today proved that he couldn’t be left alone.

Grant walked over to the bench where he had left his things, picking up the tablet that Skye had given him the day before and pausing his music. He took out his wireless earbuds and placed him in their case, frowning as silence filled his ears. He liked loud music, particularly heavy stuff because it drowned out just about everything else. He had liked music like that in his childhood because it drowned out his mother’s screams. 

He started to put his things in his bag when the door to the gym opened. Grant froze up and turned around to see two unknown SHIELD agents making their way into the room. He didn’t recognize them. Fury had sent a set amount of SHIELD agents to this base to help protect the team. But, he knew that he was well above their paygrade. Fury hadn’t had Grant’s level 7 designation stripped yet. 

The men froze as they realized just who was in the room. Things didn’t quite stay secret in the Playground and most of the agents knew who Grant was.

“Well, looks like that Hydra  _ rat  _ is here.” one sneered. Grant’s face fell, watching the man’s puke green eyes. “Who let him out of his cage?”

“I-I’m not…” Grant’s face twisted up in frustration. “Hydra.”

“Ah, yeah, I forgot he talks like he’s stupid or something.” the other laughed. His eyes lingered on the scar on the side of Grant’s head. The staples had come out two days ago. The agent took a step towards Grant, despite being several inches shorter than him, “Fury wants to prosecute every Hydra agent to the fullest extent of the law, so why the hell are you still here?”

“I’m SHIELD.” Grant hissed, his eyes darkening as he looked down to the man. He pointed at him with his free hand, trying to ignore the tremble, “Y-You’re, ah, wrong.”

The green-eyes agent stepped up as well, “Okay, even if you’re SHIELD, what fucking use are you? Aren’t you supposed to be the best of the best or something?” he mocked. “Everyone at this point knows what’s wrong with you. How’s a mentally insane man who can barely even talk supposed to do his job? Fury should put you down before something happens. You-”

The agent was cut off as Grant’s fist connected with his jaw, a sickening crack ringing out, and he fell to the ground. Grant’s eyes flared with anger as the Berserker Rage quickly bubbled back up and the other agent flung himself at him. The second agent clung to Grant’s back and Grant quickly managed to fling him off. The first agent came up and went to swing at Grant, but Grant freed his casted arm from the sling and slammed it into the agent’s temple, causing him to fall unconscious. Grant quickly jumped onto the other man before he could get up and slammed his fist into the agent’s face. Over and over, his rage consuming him. Blood rushed in his ears. He wanted the agent to die. He wanted him to pay for mocking him, for calling him weak. He wanted- He wanted-

“Grant, what the hell! Stop it!”

The cry cut into Grant’s attention, tearing it away from the agent. He looked down to the agent, seeing blood covering his face. Grant quickly scrambled away from the agents’ broken and bleeding bodies as Skye ran up. 

“Trip, go get medical help.” she called. “I’ll deal with Grant.”

Grant started to shut down, realizing what he had done. He drew his legs up to his chest as Skye knelt next to him. 

“Grant, what happened?”

He started to feel numb. Like the world around him was melting away. “M-Made fun of me. Called… Stupid.” he muttered. “Called… Hydra.”

A frown pulled at Skye’s lips. She should’ve seen something like this coming. A lot of agents at the Playground knew who Grant was and knew of his connections to Hydra. Many SHIELD loyalists didn’t understand that Grant hadn’t been Hydra of his own accord. Hell, it had taken her forever in the ‘future’ to realize that he never had been Hydra. Even with Malick and Maveth it was nothing more than Malick manipulating him and giving him a ‘purpose’ when he longed for him. 

She took a sharp breath, “Grant, that doesn’t mean that you beat the shit out of them. I know that you can’t help it, but you need to learn how to control your anger.” she stated quietly, reaching to help put his cast back into the sling. 

“C-Can’t.”

“I know that you can’t right now, but control will come in time. Your injury presents a lot of issues that we have to work through, though.”

She watched as medical agents came running in, being led by Trip. She stood up and walked over, knowing that Grant wouldn’t respond. 

“What happened?” Trip asked as the med agents rushed to the fallen agents’ sides. “Looks like Ward did a number on them.”

Skye sighed, “They confronted him about being Hydra and called him stupid. I guess they were mocking him about his injuries and he snapped.” she explained. “He’s closing off again. Can you help me get him back to our room? I’ll let him sleep and I’ll let Andrew and Coulson know what happened before people start yelling about Grant beating up two agents.”

“Where were you when this happened?”

“I was doing something for Coulson. I thought that Grant would be fine long enough for a workout.” Skye frowned, “Didn’t think he would be berated by other agents, though. I heard someone yelling about something happening in the gym, that’s why I grabbed you. I guess I’ll have to stay in here with him when he works out from now on.”

Trip shook his head, “You don’t have to do  _ everything,  _ you know.” he stated. “You are not Ward’s sole caretaker.”

“I know, it’s just that I feel obligated to do something.”

“Regardless of what happened in that ‘future’, that doesn’t mean you have to neglect yourself in helping him. You have an entire team who’s willing to help, Skye. We’ll all take turns.” Trip frowned, “Look, I don’t know Ward all that well, but I can tell that he’s a good man. Garrett just took him and twisted that into something bad. Looking at him makes me scared of what Garrett could’ve done to me.”

Skye looked back to Grant, who still sat on the ground motionless, “Garrett was terrifying in that ‘future’. Coulson was the one to kill him there. Then we abandoned Grant, not realizing what was wrong with him.” she explained. “That’s why I want to help Grant here because I failed him there, Trip. I want to make things right.”

“But, don’t do that by slowly destroying yourself. You have to pay attention to your needs, too. Ward may need a hell of a lot of attention, but that doesn’t mean you have to neglect yourself. Look, either Fitz or I can go with him to his session tomorrow. Rest. Do something for yourself. Ward will be fine.”

Skye’s heart fell. She knew that Trip was right, but she didn’t want to leave Grant alone for one second. Especially after what had just happened. But, she was once again putting others ahead of her own needs. Just like in that ‘future’.

She had to take care of herself for once.

* * *

(That Night)

Skye tried to avert her eyes as Grant stepped out of the shower. She handed him a towel and watched as he dried his hair before managing to wrap the towel around his waist. “Are you feeling any better?” she asked. “You slept for a while after this morning.”

He nodded, “Still sleepy.” he stated. Skye figured that. He had just been put on meds the day before and they tended to make him sleepy. The clashing of anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, and anti-tremor medications was already taking a toll on him. When he wasn’t working out, in a session, or trying his best to socialize, he was sleeping. 

“Well, it’s only eight. Maybe we can watch TV for a bit and then we’ll sleep. But, I have to take a shower, too.” she stated. She frowned, looking up at his uneven hair, “But, first. I’m gonna cut that damn hair of yours. It’s so uneven.”

Grant frowned but didn’t say anything.

Skye pointed to the toilet, “Sit.” she ordered, going over the locked cabinet. Coulson had it installed the other day. It contained anything Grant could use to harm himself. His medication. Anything even remotely sharp. She punched in the combination on the electronic lock, opening the cabinet and pulled out an electric razor. As she moved around, she was glad that the bathroom was fairly big. Coulson had given them one of the base’s largest rooms. She figured that it had been meant for a figure of leadership. Of course the higher-ups got the nicer rooms while lower agents got bunks.

She plugged the razor in and turned it on. Now, she knew that she wasn’t the best of hairdressers, but she cut her own hair for the past several years. She was sure that she could even out Grant’s hair. Grant closed his eyes as she started to shave the right side of his head, making sure that both sides looked fairly even. Once she was done, she turned off the razor and placed it aside, stepping away to admire her work. 

“It’s not great, but it’ll do until the other side starts growing out.” she stated. “It’s a weird undercut-looking thing, but it’ll have to do. Stand up so I can clean the hair up.”

Grant frowned as he looked into the mirror, “Fine.” he said as she cleaned the hair off of her. “No need.”

Skye stopped, “What do you mean?”

He shook his head, “All this. No need.” he repeated, trying his best to sound out what he wanted to say.

“You mean that I don’t have to do any of this?”

“Yeah.”

“Grant.” Skye sighed, moving to where she could look him in the eyes. “I want to help. And helping you right now is things like this. You’ll eventually be able to do these things on your own. I feel like I owe you something from what happened in the ‘future’.” she explained. “I want to help you.”

“Not this. Feels… Silly.”

Skye took a sharp breath, “I know it feels weird to have people help you like this.” she stated, continuing to clean the hair up. She cleaned the razor up and locked it back up in the cabinet. “But, sometimes, we have to rely on others for some strange things.”

“Not all you.”

Skye frowned, his statement echoing what Trip had told her earlier. She was still putting all of his care on her. And Grant realized that. “Well, I don’t think that Fitz would want to help you in the bathroom, Grant.” she joked. “Simmons helps you with medical stuff. Fitz and Trip make sure you have some kind of fun. Coulson and May make sure you get the help you need. Everyone has their own part, Grant. I just get stuck with the more personal tasks because I’m the most comfortable around you like this. Hell, we sleep in the same bed, Grant.”

“No over.” Grant’s face twisted up in thought. “Too much.”

Skye sighed as she started to take the covering off of Grant’s cast. “I just feel like I need to do  _ something,  _ Grant.” she stated. “And besides, I’m taking a little time to myself tomorrow. I asked Fitz to go with you to your session with Andrew. I need to take some time to think things through.” She still needed to be with her thoughts some, to still fully process the trauma that was the ‘future’. She had even started to write down everything that she could remember so she wouldn’t forget. That the reminder of what could’ve been was always there.

Grant nodded, “Good.” 

“Now, brush your teeth and get ready for bed.” Skye threw the cast covering aside and started to take her shirt off. “I need a shower for God’s sakes.” She smiled as Grant’s eyes immediately went to her breasts as her shirt and bra came off. “Take in what you can, Grant. This is as close as you’ll get tonight.”

Grant blushed and quickly turned his attention to the sink, starting to get ready to brush his teeth. They hadn’t done anything  _ that  _ intimate yet. Yes, they had quite a few heated makeout sessions, but it never got any further than that. Grant was afraid to. The other day had come close, but he had grown frustrated with himself as his hand had shaken far too much for him to even get Skye’s bra off and he had started to shut down. He was also afraid that he would somehow hurt her. 

He stared at her in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, watching as she got fully undressed and stepped into the shower. He was already tired of being frustrated and afraid of himself. He was already tired of all of the medication and the therapy. Tired of being psychoanalyzed and being babied. 

He went to wash the toothbrush off and just stopped and stared at it. He wondered if he could break the toothbrush into a point. If he could jam that point so hard into his chest that it would kill him. 

But, he shook his head to clear away that thought, putting the toothbrush away. 

Yes, he wanted to die. Wanted to get rid of the pain. He was a monster. He raged until someone got hurt. A monster who couldn’t even take care of himself and had to rely on others for just about everything. He believed that he didn’t deserve to live. But, as Skye started to hum in the shower, he felt a little different.

A part of him wanted to live for her. She had been through so much and had done so much to pull him away from Garrett that that part of him felt that it would be selfish to end it all. 

But, the other part was much stronger at this point and it would only take just a little bit for it to snap and for everything to end for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a lot happens here. Grant about kills two agents, showing the extent of his anger problem. Skye realizes that she also needs to take care of herself. The next chapter will focus more on Skye and how she's processing things, which I'll try to incorporate how she was in the 'future' into that. And I will say that crap will hit the fan with Grant soon. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	18. I Only Wanted Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The (slight) calm before the storm.

(The Next Day)

Skye sighed, sitting down at the small desk in the corner of her and Grant’s room. She soaked in the peace and quiet. Fitz had just come to take Grant to his appointment with Andrew, leaving her to herself. Even if Skye did absolutely love Grant, she really needed this quiet time for herself. Mainly to think things over.

She opened the drawer in the desk, pulling out a small journal. She had recently started to write down everything that she could recall from the ‘future’, just in case it happened to fade from her memory somehow. Even if the ‘future’ was painful to recall, she didn’t want to forget it. It was a reminder of what could’ve been if things weren’t changed.

_ “Now, where was I?”  _ she thought, opening the journal to the last page she had written on.  _ “Oh, yeah. After the crystal incident. Fish oil. What a load of bullshit. You think something as big as Terrigen would’ve come out in a drastically different way. The ‘future’ was badly written in a lot of parts. The more that I think about what happened, the more things don’t make sense. Everything just flip flops around and rewrites itself. That’s why I can’t believe what I saw, but I know that it was real.”  _ She sighed again, scribbling down a few more things, detailing the 3 months she spent as a ‘vigilante’ of sorts before rejoining SHIELD.  _ “Even that doesn’t make sense. I go all emo vigilante because I needed time for myself? No, I needed help.” _

She wrote up until the Lash incident before placing her pen down.  _ “Things were weird there. Grant made himself some weird leader of Hydra. But, it really wasn’t Hydra, was it?”  _ she asked herself.  _ “He just wanted a face that could stand against SHIELD. Grant was really never Hydra. And I had the audacity to call him a Nazi. He just wanted a place where he felt like he belonged and Hydra gave that to him, even if it led to his death. We just couldn’t see the man he could truly be. How much did I change things?” _

A part of her wondered what would’ve happened if she had listened to Grant back at Garrett’s hideout. No, Grant would be dead if she hadn't stepped in. Yes, he was in terrible shape, but he was alive. 

And Skye still wondered if any of the ‘future’ would happen. She knew that the Inhumans and her parents were bound to happen since that was such an integral part of her. Hell, this  _ was  _ probably around the time that Grant had found out about her father. Raina probably knew as well. She hadn’t told Grant about meeting her family yet; she couldn’t bring up the courage to face what happened all over again. 

Would Hive still happen? She knew that it would be foolish to believe that Malick wasn’t searching for the Hydra god. But, Hive couldn’t happen like it did since Grant wouldn’t be on Maveth to be killed by Coulson and to be worn as a puppet to the alien being. And since it was unlikely Radcliffe would never be brought into the picture, AIDA and the Framework wouldn’t come to exist. 

The Inhumans were the only thing that Skye saw still happening. She just feared how it would, though. It was likely that her father would still ally himself with Hydra, so that posed a certain challenge. 

Still, the first challenge was making sure that Grant healed and stayed alive. Grant’s greatest enemy was still himself at this point. She feared that she would wake up one morning to find him lying in a puddle of his own blood. And, at this point, she wasn’t sure of how to prevent just that.

_ “Look at me.” _ she thought, putting the journal away.  _ “I’m supposed to be taking time to myself and I’m still worrying over him. The problem is that ‘those’ things I suffered through haven’t really happened, so I don’t have to worry about that. But, I still can’t look at him straight without seeing those parasites pouring from his skin sometimes. I sometimes look at Trip and see him crumbling into rubble. I sometimes look at Fitz and see him crying in frustration. Even if that ‘future’ didn’t happen, it was still real. It still affected me. I’m not the same Skye I was before the coma. Hell, I’m probably still Daisy at the point. I haven’t even told anyone, not even Grant, about that.” _

She had been so busy ever since Grant fell into that coma that she hadn’t had the time to really process who she was at this point. But, was she really Daisy right now? She didn’t have her powers. Suddenly calling herself Daisy just didn’t seem right, especially since the ‘future’ technically didn’t even happen. Maybe she could tell the others about her true name, but she felt safer just being Skye. At this point, ‘Skye’ held so much more meaning to her than ‘Daisy Johnson’. Yes, Daisy might be her legal name, but Skye just felt right. 

She sighed, looking at the clock on the wall to find that an hour had already passed since Grant had left with Fitz. Grant’s sessions usually ran somewhere from 2 to 3 hours, depending on the mood that Grant was in. He would soon start speech therapy for his aphasia, taking up more of his time. And that wasn’t even taking into account the occupational therapy he would start for his hands once his cast came off. Grant would constantly be in some kind of therapy for the next long while. 

She really needed to find him something to take his mind off of things.

Skye played on her phone until the door opened and Grant walked in about an hour later. She stood up as he went over to the bed and laid down on it without a word. She wasn’t about to bother him, especially after a session. With a sharp breath, she went out into the hall where Fitz was waiting and closed the door behind her.

“How’d it go?”

Fitz shrugged, “Andrew really didn’t get that deep into things. I think he was giving Ward a break.” he answered. “He really talked about him trying to find hobbies, but we’ve already been doing that for Ward. He touched on his brother some more and that was about it. It still drained Ward, though.’

Skye frowned, “I’ll let him sleep for a while.” she stated. “What kind of hobbies did Andrew suggest?”

“Nothing really new, other than trying to bring some normalcy back into Ward’s life. He suggested one big thing, though, if Coulson’s willing to allow it.”

“Huh?”

“Letting Ward into the shooting range, with strict supervision, of course. Andrew thinks that allowing Ward to do something he thinks is ‘normal’ may help how he feels about himself.” Fitz explained. 

“I’m not letting Grant near a gun.”

“Look, it would be as long as someone like May or Trip’s in there to disarm him in case something does happen.” Fitz countered. “Andrew also thinks that it might help with his hands. But, still. It’ll be something to let him feel ‘normal’. He’s got to talk to Coulson about it though. Also, he brought up getting him a dog.” he added before Skye could protest the shooting range again. 

Skye’s face fell, “A dog?” she asked. “How the hell are we going to get a dog into the base?”

“Well, Ward’s stated a couple of times that dogs make him happy.” Fitz stated, looking at the closed door. “Andrew brought it up.”

“Like a service dog?”

“Andrew thinks that he doesn’t need a full blown service dog. Just a puppy that’ll keep him company.” 

“How the hell are we going to get a puppy onto the base?”

Fitz scratched at the back of his head, “He said he would talk to you and Coulson about it. Maybe surprise Ward with the puppy. Having something he can devote his attention to taking care of might keep his attention off of his problems.”

Skye pursed her lips, “It’s an idea, but it’ll be hard to pull off.” she stated. “We live in a secret base for God’s sakes.” She sighed, “Anyways, thanks for taking him, I just needed some time to myself for a while.”

Fitz smiled, “It’s not a problem, Skye.” he answered. “Really. I want to help him as much as you do. It’s just tough to see him like that, though. He’s like a completely different man. It’s hard to believe that one person’s been through that much.”

Skye nodded slowly, “Yeah, it’s hard to see him like this, but this is way better than the alternative. Anything’s better than that monster we made him into.”

“Skye…” Fitz really wasn’t sure of how to approach this question. “Did his betrayal or whatever really warrant our anger in that ‘future’?” he asked. “Did it really warrant us turning a blind eye to him?”

“No, it didn’t. I think we were really just angry at ourselves for not seeing it before he stabbed us in the backs. But, truly, he didn’t even stab us in the backs. He was just going with what he knew and we threw him to the wolves. Hell, we turned him over to his piece of shit abusive brother. He just wanted to erase the ‘mistake’ we made by getting him out of the picture, I guess. It took too long for any of us to realize what had really happened. And it was too late once we did.”

“But, you think we’ve prevented that here, right?”

Skye shrugged, “I guess that we did. Grant’s betrayal was a key part of everything that happened. Well, more or less our failure of him. Like I’ve said before, his greatest enemy is himself.” she explained. “We have to make sure that he doesn’t defeat himself. I just hope other events don’t happen and get in the way. If something distracts us, we might just lose Grant. I don’t worry about Hydra getting to him. I worry about him getting to him.

I can’t tell when other things will happen.” she continued. “I’m bound to run into my parents sooner or later. I’m sure at this point my father is on Hydra’s radar, but Grant was key in me meeting him. So, I don’t know how things will play out. But in the ‘future’, that was half a year from now. So, hopefully, we have time.”

Fitz blinked, “Yeah, I hope so, too.”

Skye nodded, “Anyways, thanks for taking him. It means a lot.” she stated. “Maybe we can talk to Coulson about that dog later. I’ll leave the shooting range thing to Andrew. Yeah, having Grant do something that is ‘normal’ to him might work, but I really don’t trust him with a gun right now.”

Fitz gave her a tight smile, “Yeah, me either. But as long as someone like May’s in there and can disarm him or something, it might work.” he replied. “But, still, I don’t know. I’ll let you two be for now.”

Skye smiled back at the engineer as he walked away.

With a sigh, she went back into the room, finding Grant laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. “You’re not asleep yet?” she asked. “You usually are.”

“No sleep.” 

Skye walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge as Grant sat up. “Sounds like Andrew wasn’t too hard on you today. What did you talk about?”

He leaned his head on her shoulder, “Dogs.”

Skye looked at him and raised an eyebrow, “Oh, what about them?”

“I like them.”

“I know you like them, Grant, but what did Andrew say?”

“Get one.”

“Fitz said something about that. Coulson will have to say yes first, though.” Grant sat back up and looked at her, causing her to smile. “Maybe we can see about a puppy or something. We can’t exactly go to a shelter right now. Maybe me and Coulson can work something out.”

“Big one.” he said. “No Lab.”

Skye frowned, “You don’t want a Lab?” she asked, remembering about Buddy. She should’ve figured that it would come up again. “But, you want a big dog?”

“Yeah.” He started to pick at his cast. “Can train, too.”

Skye knew that she would have to keep that in mind. “What else did Andrew talk about having you do?”

“Gun.”

Her frowned returned, “Is that something you want to do, Grant?” she asked. “I don’t think you and guns would mix very well right now.”

He nodded, “I w-want to.” he stammered. “I like shooting. Ah…” He scrunched up his face, “Feel b-better.” He craved having his hands on a gun again. Pistol. Sniper. It didn’t matter. He just wanted to smell the gunpowder again. Yeah, he knew why Skye was worried about that. He knew that she feared he would try to take his life with the gun. But, he just wanted to blow some steam. See if he could still shoot. If his hands allowed him to do so.

“Again, Coulson’s gonna have to approve that, Grant. Even if you  _ do  _ like shooting your guns, that doesn’t mean you’re okay to be around them. Someone’s gonna have to be in there to watch you.”

“Fine.”

Skye knew that it was best to go ahead and change the subject. She looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was only a little past one in the afternoon. “Are you hungry?” she asked. “You haven’t had lunch yet.”

He shrugged.

Skye stood up and turned to look at him, “Come on, we’re going to go have lunch. Maybe we can grab Fitz and Trip and play a game or something while we’re at it. Okay?”

“Okay.” Grant stood to his feet, adjusting his sling as he started to walk towards the door. “Want sandwich. I make it.”

Skye allowed herself to smile just a little bit as Grant headed out the door. At least he was okay, but that didn’t mean that it would last. His happiness, and confidence, was only temporary.

For it would soon fade away and the storm would return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the next chapter will be quite a doozy. It's huge on Grant's part as it shows how he really feels about himself and his situation. And it'll be quite heavy. Any guesses of what's to come? (And did y'all notice the shade I threw towards the show?) Keep the comments and kudos coming! (And be sure to leave a comment if you can! I need to make sure I have the story on the right track!)


	19. I See Your Heart, Who's the Broken One?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to go downhill for Grant.
> 
> TW: Suicide attempt.

(The Next Day)

Skye walked with Grant as they headed towards the shooting range, “Now, May should already be there with your guns from the Bus.” she stated. Her nerves were on fire. She was afraid of this. Hell, she was surprised that Coulson had okayed this. But, Coulson said that he was okay with it as long as someone was there that could disarm him. Meaning May was there with an ICER, ready to tranq him in case things went south, which they inevitably would. 

“Good.”

Grant kept his eyes locked on the hallway in front of him. Skye was thinking out loud at this point. Her concern for him was as clear as day and he hated it. Yes, it was nice that he finally had something that truly cared for him, but he thought that Skye’s worry was starting to get overbearing. He just wanted to be able to do something for himself at this point. 

Truly, Grant was getting too ahead of himself. He had only been awake for about 9 days now. The doctors were astounded at his resiliency, at how fast he came back from the brink of death. If only that were the case with his TBI. He had only recovered from the more superficial injuries. His cast would most likely be coming off in 2 weeks. If only his TBI had been able to do just that.

“Grant, how do you plan on shooting your guns?” Skye asked as they got closer to the shooting range. “You have to have two hands for most. I’ve seen you shoot a handgun with just one arm, but a sniper?”

“No sniper. Just pistol.”

Grant didn’t care what gun he fired. He just wanted to feel the recoil. Smell the gunpowder. That’s all he cared about. 

Skye raised an eyebrow as Grant headed straight into the shooting range. She sighed, following him straight in. She stopped right by May as Grant made a beeline for his guns, which laid in a staging area.

“His pistols are there, nothing more.” May stated. “Trip cleaned them for him.” She patted an ICER at her hip. “I’ll be in there right next to him in case he gets any ideas. He’s fast. So, there’s no telling what he’ll do if he gets some hairbrained idea. And, Skye, I honestly wouldn’t put it past him to do something stupid.”

Skye took a sharp breath, “Yeah, that’s what I think, too. I didn’t want him doing this, but he was so deadset. I guess shooting his guns to him gives him some kind of feeling of normalcy.” she explained, looking over to where Grant was. She watched as he checked one of his pistols over and reached for a set of earmuffs. “I don’t even see how he can do this stuff with just one good arm.”

“You’d be surprised what he can do with just one arm, Skye. You saw what happened to those agents the other day. He beat the shit out of them.”

“Yeah, but it’s a gun, though.”

“Don’t doubt him.”

May walked past her as Grant headed into the actual range. Skye wanted to be in there with him, but figured that it would be best if she wasn’t hovering over him. Standing behind the barrier would be best for now. 

“Don’t need watch.” Grant said as he saw May come up from behind him. “Can do myself.”

May frowned as she watched Grant slowly load his gun, keeping the gun near his casted arm. He held the gun in his good hand and he shakily put the magazine into the gun with his casted arm. Her frown grew as she noticed that Grant was already starting to get frustrated and she knew that it would only get worse once he realized that he could shoot right.

With a sigh, May nodded and stepped back, putting on her own hearing protection. “Fine. Just let me know if you need help.”

“No help.” Grant growled, placing the gun down on the counter and putting on his earmuffs. “Not useless.”

He picked his gun back up and aimed at the target that May had already set up for him. He managed to brace his arm with his casted arm, but not very well. Frustration started to bubble up in his chest as the gun shook and he couldn’t get a proper aim on the target. Every time he managed to get the bullseye in his sights, the gun slipped. With his face twisting up, he fired. The frustration just grew as he saw that the bullet had hit nowhere near the bullseye. This wasn’t right. He was supposed to be the best of the best. Only Barton was better than him when it came to making the shot. But this? This was humiliating at best.

A growl ripped from his chest and he fired rapidly, emptying the magazine. He fumbled to get the next magazine, but he dropped from his hand as his hand started to violently shake, causing the bullets to all fall to the concrete floor with a clatter. He flung the gun to the ground, “Fuck!” he screamed, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

He knelt to the ground as Skye came rushing into the room, trying his best to pick up the fallen bullets. But, his hand shook far too much for him to even pick up one.

“Ward.”

Grant looked up, his teeth bared and tears running down his cheeks. “No help.” he hissed as May tried to bend down to help him. “Not helpless. Fuck off.”

May backed off as Skye appeared. 

“Grant, let someone help.”

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he managed to put the bullets, one by one, into the magazine and stood up. He looked Skye dead in the eyes, “Fuck off.” he repeated, his voice twisted in frustration and anger. “Not a  _ child. _ ”

He bent back down to pick up the gun, glaring at Skye as he did so. He turned back to the counter and proceeded to reload the gun. Aiming once more, his hand shook far too much for him to get a steady aim. His face twisted up in rage and he slammed the gun down onto the counter, taking off his earmuffs and flinging them across the room.

“Grant.” Skye warned. She knew that this would happen. She knew that he would find himself unable to hit his mark and he would grow frustrated with himself.

“S-Shut up.” he stammered, his eyes on the floor. Tears started to stain the concrete below. “I c-can’t do right.” he muttered. “Am best. C-Can’t do.” 

“Grant, you know that’s not right.” Skye began. She saw May place a hand on her ICER out of the corner of her eye. “Calm down. Maybe right now just wasn’t the right time to be doing something like this.”

Faster than either she or May could react, Grant had reached for the gun and had the muzzle pressed right to his temple. “I’m useless!” he screamed. “Isn’t fair!”

Skye’s stomach dropped as she processed what he was doing. May immediately had her ICER trained on Grant.

“Ward, drop the gun.” May warned. “Now. Don’t do something that you’ll regret.”

Skye wasn’t sure of what to do. She knew that one wrong move and Grant would pull the trigger. 

“Why regret?!” Grant hissed, his hold on the gun unwavering. “I wanna die! T-Tired of being like this!” His voice shook with rage at himself. He felt useless. He felt worthless. How was he even supposed to be an agent when all of his bullets missed their mark?

“Grant, you aren’t broken.” Skye began, taking a slight step towards him with her hands raised. “You haven’t had the time to heal. It’s only been nine days. You should’ve known that you wouldn’t be able to fire a gun properly now, Grant.”

Grant’s body trembled as his tears continued to fall, “C-Can’t do right.” he stammered. “Let me die.” His finger moved over the trigger, causing Skye to freeze. “Stop helping. Bothering. Should’ve let Garrett kill m-me.”

Skye’s face fell, “Grant, don’t be like this. You-”

“Shut up!” he screamed, tightening his hold on the gun. “Talk much! Can’t live like pieces!”

“Ward, drop the gun.” May repeated. “Or I’ll shoot.”

Grant turned his red-rimmed stare towards May, “Do it.” he hissed. “Shoot me.” His face fell as he realized that she only held an ICER. “Not real. Won’t work.”

“Grant, please, stop this.” Skye begged. “It’s only the beginning. Don’t give up now.”

“I want that.”

Skye shook her head, trying to choose her words carefully, “No, you don’t. You have so much to live for, Grant.” she said softly. She noticed May inching closer towards him, so she decided to try and distract him. “You have an entire team of people who care for you. I love you, Grant. I don’t want to lose you like this. Like I said, this is only the beginning.”

“Don’t know me.”

“Grant, I  _ do  _ know you.” Skye continued as May got closer. “This isn’t you. You’re letting your rage and frustration get the better of you. We fought so hard to get away from Garrett, don’t let him win. This is exactly what he would want of you.”

Grant faltered, lowering the gun, “What he want?” he asked, his frustration twisting his words.

Skye nodded, “Yes, it would. I know that he would call you weak and belittle you to do something like this.” she said slowly. “This is what he would want. Don’t let him win now.”

“I-”

Grant was stopped as the gun was suddenly wrenched from his grasp. He looked to see May disarming the gun. She placed it aside, “I’m going to tell Coulson you aren’t to be in the shooting range. I don’t even know why he thought that this would be a good idea.” she stated. “Go get some rest.”

Grant felt to his knees as sobs overtook his body. Skye quickly went to kneel in front of him. “I-I wanna die.” he sobbed. “I hate me. Pieces.”

Skye’s heart tore in two as she took his right hand. She lightly drew circles into his palm, “I know that it’s hard for you, Grant. But that doesn’t mean that you deserve to die. You’ve done nothing wrong. You will get better, I promise.”

He sniffed and looked at her, “Promise?” he asked, leaning his forehead on her shoulder. 

“Promise.”

Skye’s words left a hollow taste in her mouth. She really couldn’t promise that. At this rate, she knew that the biggest risk to Grant was himself. She couldn’t always be there to watch him. Things would slip by her and he would take the opportunity to do something.

And she knew that Grant was falling even deeper into the hell that Garrett had created for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. An attempt at letting Grant do something he deems 'normal' almost goes wrong. I told you that this chapter would be heavy. (And if you need to set the mood for this chapter, look up the song Sever by Red). Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	20. With the Turning of This Knife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another dream.

(That Night)

_ “Mama!” _

_ Skye smiled as the black-haired little boy ran up to her, jumping into her lap. “Hey, buddy? Where’s your Daddy?” _

_ The three year old smiled, the same gummy smile that his father always gave, “He outside! Max, too!” he exclaimed. “He practicin’ his ‘ricks!” The little boy waved his arms all around. _

_ Skye sighed and got up, holding the toddler against her chest, “Then we better go watch him, shouldn’t we?” she asked. “It’s not good for him to be by himself.” _

_ The little boy buried his head into the crook of her neck, “Okay.”  _

_ Skye carefully took him outside, pausing as she saw Grant shirtless. He perked up and turned and smiled. He walked over to a poolside chair and picked up a towel, wiping the sweat off of his torso.  _

_ “Did Adian bother you?” he asked, holding out his arms. The little boy screeched and jumped out of his mother’s arms and ran towards his father. Grant scooped him right up. _

_ “No, he didn’t. I just finished up my work for Coulson.” she replied, smiling as Max, their black German shepherd, came trotting up to her. She bent over to pet him between his ears. “Guess he wanted me to come see you or something.” _

_ “N-No, I think he got bored watching me.” Grant stammered, his words tangling up. “Which is surprising, since he usually loves fire.” _

_ Adian wrinkled up his nose as Skye stood back up, “Daddy stinky.” _

_ “That’s sweat, buddy.” _

_ “Stinky.” _

_ Skye rolled her eyes and watched the two as they talked. Grant had come so far from that day. Eight years seemed so long to her. It wasn’t a perfect recovery, though. His hands still shook from time to time. His words still got tangled up, mainly when he was nervous. But, he could speak in full sentences and could fully express himself. Skye often wondered if that day in the Temple helped to accelerate his healing. Her eyes drifted to the left side of his head where his hair had long grown over his scar. The scars on his wrists still shone brightly, a stark reminder of the day that she had almost lost him again. The day she found him bleeding out in the kitchen of the Playground. A knife that another agent had accidentally left on the counter on the floor next to his body. _

_ But, his smile was strong and bright. Her eyes lingered on the wedding band on his left hand, a special band created by Fitz that wouldn’t melt. Her smile grew as he kissed Adian on the forehead, eliciting a loud squeal from the boy. She- _

The dream quickly went dark. Adian faded from view, his squeals quieting. Skye looked to see Grant standing there, his eyes blood-red and a blank look on his face. “Grant?” she asked, taking a step towards him. 

His lips curled into a snarl and flames bursted from his skin, roaring towards her and consuming her. She screamed as the flames died away and she was plunged into darkness. She couldn’t see anything, but screams soon filled her ears. Grant’s screams. 

_ “Let me go! Skye! Skye!”  _

_ “Where you take her?! Fuck off!” _

_ “Garrett’s dead! Hate Hydra. Leave me alone.” _

_ “Skye! Skye! Come back! No run! Skye-” _

* * *

Skye awoke with a start, looking over to see Grant curled into her side, his face twitching as if he were in the throes of a dream. She took a sharp breath and stared up at the ceiling, the contents of the dream weighing down heavily onto her.

_ “Another dream.”  _ she thought.  _ “No, a vision.”  _ Her heart twisted up, longing for what she had seen. A son. A stable, much healthier Grant. Her  _ husband.  _ Maybe it had meant that right now was only a setback. Things would get better, right? She just hoped that the dream was the same as the ‘future’. Maybe she  _ was  _ doing things right. Maybe she wouldn’t lose Grant to himself. That he lived long enough to become her husband. That he lived long enough for them to have a son together. 

But, there was one thing that didn’t make sense, though. 

_ “The temple?”  _ she asked herself, casting a quick glance at Grant.  _ “So that still happens? But… That means he ends up in there with me. That means he’s Inhuman, too. But, how? At this rate, San Juan will happen in about half a year. He won’t be better by then. How the hell would he get there? I guess that’s not my main worry right now. I’ve gotta make sure that he lives long enough to even be able to get to that point. Maybe I’m doing things right at the moment, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t change.  _

_ But if he’s Inhuman… The serum would work on him. That’s the only reason why it worked on me. But, I don’t want to take the chance and have it drive him insane like it did with Garrett.”  _ She sighed, still staring at the ceiling, a soft snore coming from Grant. He actually seemed at peace for once, in stark contrast to what had occurred earlier that day. Maybe he had drained himself so much that his mind didn’t even have the strength to give him a nightmare.

She looked over to the clock on the nightstand beside her, seeing that it was only a quarter to midnight. Grant muttered something in his sleep and, somehow, managed to get closer to her. Skye winced as his cast started to dig into her side and she reached over to gently move it. The cast was still strapped to his chest, only so that he wouldn’t hurt himself when a dream came. He had only been in the cast for a little over two weeks now and wouldn’t get it off for at least a couple more. Grant had been lucky that the break had been clean, so the doctors expected it to heal in about a month, give or take a week or two. 

She turned to where she could fully see him, smiling at how peaceful he looked. The fluff of his hair, how it stuck to his forehead, gave him an almost-boyish look. He was clean-shaven, only because Skye didn’t want him to try and find a razor. 

Skye took a sharp breath, knowing that this peace wouldn’t last. She hoped that the dream meant that she was doing things right, that they were on the right path. But, right now, it definitely didn’t feel like that. If Grant had managed to pull the trigger earlier, he would be gone. 

She wondered how many times she would have this residual fear. How many times would Grant try to take his own life? She didn’t know how to convince him that he wasn’t worthless. That he wasn’t broken. All the skills that made him who he was had been stripped away in a matter of seconds by Garrett.

Garrett had destroyed the very man he had worked to build. 

She reached out and brushed the hair off of his forehead. Grant let out a soft groan and mumbled once more. Skye laughed. She would’ve never taken Grant for someone who talked in his sleep. Maybe Garrett’s death had stripped away the mask he had worn. Even if Grant was just a bit different, maybe this was the true Grant.

_ “I wish things were different, Grant.”  _ she thought, running a gentle finger down the scar on his right cheek.  _ “I don’t think you’ll ever be truly better. I know that you want to be an agent. That you want to be a hero. But, I don’t think that’s the best path for you. I don’t think you’ll be able to fight as well as you used to. I don’t know for sure if that future meant you become Inhuman with me.  _

_ But, it didn’t seem that Terrigenesis healed his injuries, why would it heal his mental state?”  _ She frowned,  _ “There’s just so much that I don’t know. Things may be going okay for now, but that doesn’t mean they’ll go to shit soon. Hydra’s still out there. Grant’s still his own greatest enemy. Things are fluctuating way too much. Things could end tomorrow for all I know.” _

She took Grant’s right hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it. 

_ “I’m sorry, Grant. I wish I could make things better for you. I really do. But, I have a bad feeling that they’ll only get worse before they’ll get better.  _

_ And I don’t know how to stop it. I really don’t.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter, but I had a bit of writer's block with this. I promise a lighter chapter for the next one before it gets dark again. And I will probably do a time skip soon to help speed things up. Any guesses of what's to come?


	21. But Let's Live in the Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The calm in the storm.
> 
> TW: Suicidal Thoughts

(Two Days Later)

“Fitz. Where Skye?”

Fitz looked up with a frown, “She’s not back yet?” he asked as Grant sat across from him. She had left on an ‘errand’ for Coulson a few hours ago and Grant was getting antsy. He didn’t like being away from Skye for this long.

Grant shook his head, “No. W-Want her.” he stammered. “Don’t like.”

Fitz’s frown grew. Grant was becoming way too dependent upon Skye. Even if they did have to be around him constantly to make sure that he wouldn’t do anything to himself, it was still worrying. Grant constantly wanted Skye for some reason or another.

“Well, I’m sure that she’ll be back soon, Grant.” Fitz replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Don’t fret over it. It’s not like she left you or anything. Coulson sent her to do something, that’s all.”

Grant’s shoulders sagged. Even though he knew that Fitz was telling the truth, he still had that fear. That fear that Skye would just pack everything up and leave him one day. He feared that she would eventually grow tired of helping him and would just leave him behind.

His greatest fear at this point was being alone.

He didn’t like being alone with his thoughts. Garrett was constantly screaming at him in the back of his head, telling that he was weak and that he was flat-out broken. Screaming and jeering at him to just go ahead and end it. Grant still wished that May hadn’t intervened the other day, that the bullet had fired and pierced his skull.

He often mulled over his options, scouring the base when he could to find some kind of tool. But, it seemed as though Coulson had taken all the precautions necessary to hide everything from him. Alcohol was gone. Anything sharp was gone or locked up. He was starting to consider running at a wall at full speed, opening up his scar and letting himself bleed out.

It just wasn’t worth it, he told himself. Being reduced to a child, unable to do anything himself. He was tired of being watched. Tired of being babied. He just wanted it to end. He just wanted-

“Earth to Grant Ward.”

Grant was pulled out of his thoughts and jerked up to see Fitz staring at him. “You okay?” the engineer asked. “You zoned out there for a bit.”

Grant’s face scrunched up, not wanting to tell Fitz what he had really been thinking about. “Nothing.” he replied. “Okay”

Fitz took a sharp breath, knowing that Grant being ‘okay’ wasn’t the case. Far from the case. But, he knew not to question it. Even if he trusted Grant, he didn’t trust that the man wouldn’t snap at him if he went too far.

Grant looked away from him without another word. He already wanted Fitz to drop it. He didn’t like being interrogated like he had done something wrong. Grant couldn’t help that he absolutely hated himself.

Fitz pursed his lips, _“I don’t know what to do for him.”_ he thought. _“I’m afraid he’ll snap if I say the wrong thing. I know that he likes me. But, I don’t trust his mental state. Especially what he did the other day. If May hadn’t stopped him, he would be dead right now. I know that Skye’s afraid she’ll wake up one day to find him dead in a puddle of his own blood. It’s highly likely at this point. Andrew’s only able to slowly chip away at his trauma. Grant can’t start OT for his hands until his arm is out of the cast. He’ll be like this for a long time now. I-“_

“Grant! You in here?”

Fitz was pulled out of his thoughts and looked to see Skye standing in the doorway, a blanket wadded up in her arms. Grant immediately jumped up.

“Skye!” he exclaimed. He frowned, noticing the bundle in his arms, “What’s that?”

Skye’s lips pulled into a smile and Fitz swore that he heard a whimper from underneath the fabric. “It’s a gift for you, Grant. It’s actually something that Andrew suggested that you should get.” she began to explain. “That’s where I was. Coulson and I went to go get it. Sorry if I worried you.”

Grant blinked, staring at the blanket. “What?” he asked, pointing at it.

He almost let out an audible gasp as Skye moved the blanket to reveal what she held in her arms. “You know, I thought that this would be perfect for you considering what happened the other day. Both Andrew and Coulson agreed. Well, Coulson agreed as long as it doesn’t have run of the base.”

“Baby!” Grant’s face scrunched up again, “Baby dog!”

The puppy stared at him with bright brown eyes. Its fur was as black as Grant’s hair and had large ears that stood up in points.

Skye walked over to Grant, “Sit down, Grant.” she instructed, which he did. She carefully placed the puppy in his lap. It whined as it sniffed at Grant’s cast and froze as Grant placed his good hand on top of its head.

“Soft.” Grant stated, all weariness erased from his eyes. “Where?”

Skye pulled up a chair so she could sit down in front of him. “I went to a shelter the next state over. Had a litter of German shepherds that somebody didn’t want. Told them an annotated version of what’s going on. That’s Max. He’s about 10 weeks old. They think he’s the runt of the litter. Andrew said it would probably be better for you to have a puppy that you could train. Take your mind off of things. He doesn’t really think Max needs to be a service dog, you just need a companion.”

Grant looked down at the puppy, running a rough thumb between his ears. “Baby.”

The smile on Skye’s lips grew as she watched Grant become enamored with the young dog. The puppy just looked so small compared to Grant. She knew that a part of Grant was probably afraid that he would hurt the dog in some way or another since he was so small.

Grant’s eyes went back to Skye, “You got stuff?” he asked.

Skye frowned, looking briefly at Fitz, “Stuff?” she questioned. “What kind of stuff?”

“Ah, toys. Food.” Grant replied, his attention back on Max. “Bed.”

“Oh. Coulson’s handling that right now. Honestly, there’s no telling to what the man will bring back. Don’t be surprised if he comes back with Captain America themed everything for the dog.” Skye exclaimed with a roll of her eyes. “Probably shouldn’t have trusted him with that, to be honest.”

“Coulson really let you get a dog for the man?” Fitz asked, watching as Grant continued to gently pet the puppy.

Skye shrugged, “Only because Andrew thought that it would be a good idea.” she replied. “And, if I’m being honest, looks like it’s working pretty well right now. That’s the calmest I’ve seen him in days. Other than when he’s almost asleep. Hell, the man woke up screaming this morning before I left.”

Fitz kept his eyes on Grant, “You know, it’s kind of nice.” he stated. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like that before shit hit the fan. He must really love dogs. Hell, he went on about them to Andrew the other day. That’s why Andrew brought it up.”

“Look, whatever makes him happy makes me happy.” Skye said. “As long as Max keeps him calm and happy, I’m all for it. I know that a dog isn’t a complete cure. Grant’s still a slave to his thoughts. It’s still only a matter of time before something does happen.”

She turned her attention back to Grant, “Grant, do you like the puppy?” she asked. She paused slightly, mentally slapping herself. It sounded like she was asking a child. She knew that Grant hated it when she did it, but she couldn’t help it.

He looked up as Max settled down in his lap, propping his head up on the cast, “Yeah.” he stated. “Soft. Calm.”

Skye smiled, “Well, hopefully Coulson will get back with the supplies soon.” she stated. “We’ll set up his bed in the corner of the room with his bowls, I guess. I know that you would probably want him to sleep with us, but I don’t think that we have enough room for that. Maybe once you have your cast off. I don’t want the cast hurting him.”

Grant looked down and studied the puppy for a few seconds, “Okay.” he answered. “No hurt. Fine.” He kept rubbing his thumb on Max’s head. “Bed good.”

Looking at the clock on the wall, she noted that it was about 5 in the afternoon, “Wanna eat?” she asked. “Hopefully Coulson will be back by the time we’re done and you can play with Max.”

Fitz jumped up, “I’ll cook!” he exclaimed. “I’m sure there’s something in there.”

“Sandwich.”

Fitz paused and looked at Grant, “You want a sandwich?”

Grant nodded, “Yeah. Not very hungry.” he answered. “Get Simmons to make.”

A pout suddenly formed on Fitz’s face, “Simmons?!” he exclaimed. “You want Simmons to make you a sandwich instead of me.” A statement, not a question.

Grant’s lips quivered into a slight smile. Fitz didn’t realize that the specialist was messing with him, “They’re good. Like one I threw in puddle.”

Fitz’s eyes narrowed into a harsh glare, “Don’t you dare bring up the bloody sandwich, Ward.” he stated coldly. “Never bring the sandwich up again.”

Grant’s smile just grew as Fitz stalked out of the room. Skye sighed and stood up, taking it as a sign that Grant was feeling pretty good. She walked over behind him, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“So, I take that as you being happy?”

Grant kept on stroking the top of Max’s fur, “Yeah.”

Even if the puppy was a good distraction, it didn’t get rid of the dread sitting in the bottom of Skye’s stomach. She knew that Max wouldn’t completely heal things for Grant, it was only a salve.

The worst was still yet to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a little bit of fluff before things start to boil again. Grant's got a dog (he's appeared in other fics before)! But, he's not a end-all to Grant's problems, unfortunately. Any guesses of what's to come? And please leave a comment, I wanna make sure I'm going in the right direction with this! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	22. A Figment of Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some downtime.

(Two Days Later)

Grant frowned, studying Max as the puppy looked up at him. He held out his good arm, a treat in his hand. “Sit.” he ordered in a firm voice. “Max. Sit.”

The puppy yipped and plopped down, looking at Grant. His tongue hung out the side of his mouth, causing Grant to smile. Grant reached out and gave the treat to Max.

“Good boy.” he stated, rubbing the top of the puppy’s head. “Smart.”

“I see that you’re making some progress.” 

Grant looked up to see Skye coming into the lounge. He nodded, “Smart.” he repeated. “G-Good dog.” Max let out a sharp yip, but stayed in place.

“And he’s also keeping you happy and busy.” Skye stated, walking over and sitting next to Grant on the couch. “So, I call that a win-win type of situation. Seems like Andrew was right about getting you a dog.”

Grant returned his attention back to the puppy, reaching down and scooping him up in his free arm. He gently placed him in his lap. “I like dogs.” he stated. “Better t-than people.” He nodded slowly, letting Max make his way into Skye’s lap. “Not mean. Don’t uh…” He scrunched up his face. “Make fun.”

“They don’t make fun of you?”

“Yeah.”

A small smile pulled at her lips as Max plopped down onto her lap. She started to rub the puppy right between the ears. “Makes sense.” She knew that he hated the stares other agents gave him. The ones that only saw him as the ‘Hydra traitor’. The ones that would mock him for the way he talked. Grant preferred his company to be silent. 

Grant stared off into the distance, “I had a dog. Long time.” he began. His face started to fall, “Gift from G-Garrett.”

Skye’s smile quickly fade, knowing just where he was going. 

Buddy.

“Brown Lab.” Grant continued, his stare growing distant. “Only friend in cold woods. C-Cared for me. Garrett wanted him gone.” Skye’s frown grew as she noted tears budding in the corner of Grant’s eyes. “Weakness. No friends. Gave me g-gun.” His face twisted up, “Couldn’t. Let him go. He ran.” He grew quiet for a second, “Found him dead. Hurt. Big gun. Garrett did it.”

Skye wasn’t sure of what to say to him. She knew that was probably the worst part of his relationship with Garrett. That Garrett couldn’t let him keep a dog because ‘attachment showed weakness’. There was no wonder that Grant hated being called weak. Garrett had drilled it into his head over fifteen years. Grant wasn’t even allowed the simplest of things because, in Garrett’s eyes, it made him weak and soft. Hell, she was surprised that Grant was capable of expressing love towards her. 

She sighed and scooped Max up, placing him back in Grant’s lap. “Well, Grant, Garrett’s not here anymore. That’s not going to happen to Max.” she stated as Grant took his good arm and held the young shepherd close to his chest. “No one’s going to take him away from you. I’ll make sure of that.”

Grant looked at her, giving her a silent, thankful look. He returned his attention back to Max, not saying a single word. Grant didn’t have to tell her ‘thank you’ for her to know that he truly appreciated it. He had always been a man of few words and a single look could hold all the answers she needed.

Grant allowed himself a small smile as Max looked up at him and licked his stubble-covered cheek. Skye frowned slightly, noting the puppy’s Captain America collar. She really shouldn’t have let Coulson pick out the puppy supplies. But, she had to deal with what they had. 

“Well,” Skye began, taking a breath. She knew that she needed to change the subject. “Look on the bright side.” She pointed at Grant’s cast, “You get that giant thing off tomorrow to get it looked at.” It had been three weeks since Grant’s injury. The break in his forearm had been clean, about halfway down the ulna, all due to his arm taking the brunt of his weight when Garrett had thrown him to the ground. The doctors had been surprised that it was a clean break and suspected that it had already been fractured. There was no telling what Grant had gone through when she hadn’t been present. They also had found signs of old breaks that had never properly healed, Whether that be from his mother or Garrett, Skye didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to know the hell he had been through. At least his injuries would heal, his mind wouldn’t.

His physical injuries had healed fairly fast, the gash on his cheek now a red scar, so his doctors wanted to check it. He had only been in a long arm cast since they wanted to immobilize the arm while he was comatose and recovering. Now that he was up and walking around, they wanted to see if he could be changed to a smaller cast for a couple of weeks.

Grant blinked, “Not coming off.” he muttered. He wanted the damn thing off. It itched and smelled to high hell. He didn’t want another cast. It was restraining. He wanted to be free to exercise and such; he couldn’t even do that.

Skye sighed, “Well, it’ll be a change. You heal like Superman, Grant. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was already almost healed.” she explained. But, it’ll be lighter. And cleaner. I’m tired of smelling it every night. If you want to spoon me and put your cast over me, I don’t want it to smell like your sweat.”

Grant looked at her briefly before looking back to Max. He remained quiet for a second. His mind was clouded and weariness was starting to set in. “Tired.”

Skye’s frown returned, “Huh?”

“Like this.” His shoulders sagged and he tried his best to hold Max as close as possible. He felt himself shutting down. That familiar haze overtaking his mind. “Tired of being pieces. Want it to stop.”

“Grant....”

“I’m useless.” he continued, ignoring her. “Not gonna be b-better. N-Never be, uh,  _ him _ again.”

She realized that he meant his old self. The super spy. 

“Grant, it may take a while until you’re better. You’ll start therapy for your hands soon. You’ll be able to start combat training again once the cast is fully off. Don’t expect yourself to be a hundred percent better in a couple of weeks. Garrett’s gone, Grant. You don’t have to worry about him. The old you was Garrett’s soldier. And that really wasn’t you. You have the chance to become someone new. Don’t compare yourself to who you used to be because that was who Garrett made you out to be. It may take a while, but consider this a fresh start.”

“Be right.” Grant looked away, growing silent once more.

She thought of the Grant she had met in the Framework. The perfect SHIELD agent. The hero. She knew that’s what he wanted to be. But, he was aiming a little too high right now. It was far too soon to shoot for the sun.

Skye feared that his wings would soon melt and he would come crashing down to the ground.

And she feared that it would be soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a shorter, kind of calmer chapter before crap hits the fan. The next chapter isn't going to be pretty and I'm sorry about it. Any guesses? Keep the comments and kudos coming! (And check out my new fic Kingdom of Cards if you haven't already!)


	23. Time Won't Stop Another Setting Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The worst comes to be.
> 
> TW: Suicide attempt.

(Four Days Later)

Grant stalked down the hallway, tears running down his cheeks. He had snuck out of his and Skye’s room, leaving her fast asleep. They had been laying down, Skye comforting him after a particularly bad session with Andrew. The good doctor had decided to try to delve into Garrett today. And it hadn’t gone well with Grant at all.

He was sent spiraling into a dissociative state soon after Andrew tried to get him to recall the first day with Garrett. That day in juvie. Andrew ended up ending the session early, getting Skye to escort him back to their room. The psychologist had noted that Grant was nowhere near ready to bring up Garrett just yet. He knew that he wasn’t ready to fully open up, but he just wanted to try and attempt to get Grant to bring something up.

Skye had tried to get him to take a nap, to try and sleep the episode off. She had soon dozed off in his arms, but he couldn’t go to sleep. Not when Garrett was jeering at him from the back of his mind. Grant had soon slipped out of the bed and had left her and Max where they were. He wasn’t sure of where he was going, but his mind told him that he had to get out of here. Where that was, he didn’t know. 

His hands shook as he wandered aimlessly around the hallways, stumbling past unknown agents who only gave him a dirty look. He was tired of this. He was tired of mental breakdowns every single day. He was tired of feeling like he wasn’t good enough. And he was especially tired of being broken like this. 

He was nowhere close to being better. His long cast had come off three days ago and had been replaced with a shorter one, the doctors saying that his arm was a couple weeks away from being healed. But, that wasn’t good enough. He wanted his hands to stop shaking. He wanted to be able to speak in full, clear sentences without having to fight for his words. He just wanted to be a capable agent again and not someone who had to rely on others for everything.

He just wished that Garrett had killed him a month ago.

Grant wanted to die. He didn’t want to stay like this any longer. Even Skye’s determination to help him wasn’t enough. A part of him still felt like that monster from the ‘future’ that she had described to him. He didn’t want to become that monster. He wanted to kill it before it could grow. Before that monster could take him over and take everything from him and everyone else. He hadn’t told Skye about this. That he feared he would still become the monster she had sought to stop.

_ “Didn’t think that you would turn into a little bitch, son. This is pathetic. Relying on others. You’re falling to the very weakness I told you to avoid at all costs.” _

Grant tried to block out the ghost’s scathing remarks as he stumbled into the kitchen. “S-Shut up.” he stammered. “Leave me. Y-You gone.”

Garrett’s image flickered in front of him. This was a new thing. He had only started seeing the dead man a few days ago. No one knew about this. Not even Skye. And Grant intended on keeping it that way. 

_ “You sound like a fucking toddler! That’s what you get for choosing her over me, Grant!”  _ Garrett sneered at him  _ “She awakes from a damn coma spouting absolute nonsense about a fucked-up ‘future’ where everything stems from you. And you believed that. After everything I did for you.” _

Grant gripped the sides of his head, stumbling towards the island, “Y-Your fault. I’m pieces.” he muttered. “She did. Nothing.” His head hurt. His vision was swimming and he could feel himself start to slip away once more. “You. Nothing for me. G-Go away.” Tears streamed down his face in full force. Nothing felt right anymore. He could barely tell to where he was. 

He grasped the sides of the island to hold himself up as the ghost of Garrett laughed at him. He knew that it was a hallucination, but it felt all too real. He just wanted it to end.

He wanted it  _ all  _ to end. 

His hand met a wood handle as he blindly reached. Fingers curling around the handle, he brought it into his fading field of vision to see that it was a kitchen knife. A steak knife. Most likely left there by some unknown agent. His eyes flickered to the sharp point and then to his right wrist.

_ “You’re really going to kill yourself?!”  _ Garrett laughed.  _ “What a fucking pussy. I taught you better than that. You-” _

“S-Shut up!” Grant screamed, blindly slashing the knife towards the image of his mentor to try to get him to disappear. “I wanna die! I wanna die. Your fault! Your fault!”

_ “Then do it. Better off dead than broken, right? You’re no use to anyone like this, Grant. And you know that. SHIELD knows that, too. You’re only useful to them because Fury’s eventually going to pull information out of you. You’re fucking useless, right?”  _ The hallucination’s tone changed to fit what Grant wanted.  _ “Just do it. Dig the tip into your wrist and drag it all the way down. Make sure that it bleeds.” _

Like a robot, Grant took the tip of the knife and placed it in the middle of his wrist. He wanted it to end. He wanted to bleed out and never wake up again. That would end his problems, right? At least he would be free of what he thought made him broken.

_ “That’s it, Grant, dig it in!” _

Grant grimaced as the tip dug into his skin. Blood welled up around the knife.

_ “What are you waiting for, boy, do it! Don’t you want to die? It’s not hard. You know how to kill.” _

Grant’s mind went numb and blackness danced around at the edges of his vision as he took the knife and drug it down to the middle of his forearm, the skin splitting open. He didn’t feel it. He saw the blood drip from his arm, pooling on the floor below him. But, he still didn’t feel it. His head was starting to pound and he felt woozy as the smell of blood permeated the air. Garrett had long faded from view, which was exactly what he had wanted. 

He swayed on his feet as the blood kept oozing out of his arm, the knife falling from his hand and clattering to the ground. He slipped on the pooling blood, falling face first into it. But, he didn’t mind. He felt calm. But why was there so much blood? This is what he wanted, right? To die?

He wanted everything to end. Skye kept pushing him to live, but it wasn’t working. She would never understand the pain that he went through every single day. He wanted to kill the monster she said that he had become in that ‘future’. So, had he succeeded?

Had he finally killed the monster he was so damn afraid of?

Screams filled his ears as his vision started to fade, the smell of blood clogging up his nose. Was it Fitz? Skye? He didn’t know and he really didn’t care. He didn’t want them to try and save him. He wanted them to let him die so that he would no longer be the ‘pieces’ he thought he was. 

“All I heard was his screaming, Skye!” someone yelled. Grant wasn’t processing who it was. Maybe it was Fitz. He didn’t know. He just wanted them to leave him alone and let him die.“That’s why I ran and got you! I-I didn’t know that he had done  _ this _ !”

“Go get Simmons, Fitz! Please!” There was a tremble to that voice. He knew that voice. Even if he could no longer see. Skye. “Grant, please… What the hell did you do? Where did the knife come from?! G-Grant, hold on. Don’t go to sleep.”

“Sleepy.” Grant muttered, an unnatural easiness overcoming him. It felt nice. He wanted to succumb completely to it. His eyes fluttered shut as Skye was suddenly next to him. Was she crying? He didn’t know. He didn’t care.

“Grant, you’re so fucking stupid.” she sobbed, tearing mixing in with the blood that was still pooling on the floor. Why was there so much blood? She couldn’t bring herself to look at his mauled arm. Images of the ‘future’ flashed in her head, where he had done the same exact thing. Twice. 

“Grant!”

His breathing was starting to shallow out as she could hear commotion outside; voices being led by what sounded like Simmons and May. Staring at Grant’s broken and bleeding body, she knew one thing.

She hadn’t changed the future at all. It was still happening in its own cruel and sadistic way.

Grant had fallen to himself in the very way that she had feared and Skye feared that Garrett had still won in the end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so sorry for this chapter (the trigger warning's there in the summary for a reason), but it was bound to happen, honestly. And Skye still thinks that the 'future' is happening in its own twisted way. But, is this just all coincidence? Any guesses of what's to come?


	24. I Only Wanted Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.
> 
> TW: Suicidal Thoughts.

(The Next Morning)

“He lost a lot of blood, but he’ll be okay.”

Skye looked up with weary, red-rimmed eyes at Simmons, her eyes flickering to the heavy bandaging that was wrapped around Grant’s forearm. She couldn’t get the image of all that blood out of her head, Grant’s arm laying peeled completely open, being able to see the muscle. She had just been able to get to see him. He had gone into surgery to stop the bleeding and stitch up the arm. Luckily, the knife had only cut through the skin and didn’t damage any muscle or bone. But, still, it had been so much blood because he had cut through the veins in his wrist. 

“It’ll probably be a bad scar in the end, but it’s better than him losing his life, right?” Simmons pursed her lips, searching for the right words to say. She had expected Grant to try something, but not like this. Fitz had said that it had sounded like Grant was yelling at someone, but surveillance found no one there. Grant’s mental state was so bad that it was conjuring up hallucinations that seemed to be mocking him.

“You know, he did something like this in the ‘future’.” Skye muttered, keeping her eyes on Grant. “I think I told you this. He tried to take his own life 3 times. And I told him that he should’ve tried harder. I mocked his suicide attempts and didn’t realize the true problem. And now that I know what’s wrong and he almost bled out in my arms, I just feel like a huge ass. I let my hatred of him cloud my judgement and I ignored what was wrong. I am as much to blame for the monster as Garrett is.”

Simmons sighed and pulled up a chair next to Skye, “Skye, that technically didn’t happen. Don’t beat yourself up over it. What matters is that you’re here now and you can help him. The problem is that some people are far beyond help and I am starting to think that Ward is reaching that point. Skye, I think Garrett broke him beyond repair. You think you can change everything; you’re putting too much strain on yourself.”

Skye shook her head, “This is all on me, Simmons. I know what happens. Or at least I do. I’m forgetting things and things are rewriting themselves. Hell, I was surprised when May told me that Andrew was her ex-husband and I should’ve known that already. I don’t remember everything and that scares me.”

“But, what use is remembering the future if you’ve already changed it?” the biochemist asked. “Ward’s on our side. You prevented him from doing anything else. What else could there be?”

“But, there feels like there’s something that I missed.” Skye stated, watching the gentle rise and fall of Grant’s chest. Max laid curled up on his stomach. “I feel like there’s something worse out there. Everything that I try to prevent happens in its own way. Fitz’s aphasia and brain damage happened to Grant instead. Grant’s already attempted to take his own life. Key events from that ‘future’ are still happening. Minus the betrayal. Something else is bound to come. My father is still out there somewhere. He’ll come eventually. I don’t know how that’ll happen since it was Grant in the ‘future’ who brought me to him. I just don’t know how to stop things, Simmons. I just-”

Simmons placed a gentle hand on Skye’s shoulder to stop her, “Stop worrying yourself to death over things that don’t matter right now. Focus on him while everyone else focuses on taking Hydra down.” she stated softly. “Don’t worry yourself sick. Please. I don’t want you crashing, too.”

She left Skye without another word, knowing that it was best to leave the young hacker alone.

Skye’s shoulders slumped as she stared at Grant. He looked so young and at peace in his medication-induced sleep. She had helped him to trim his hair back to the undercut sort of thing to keep the hair off the scar and shave his stubble right after he had gotten the new cast. But, his stubble was starting to grow again, giving him a 5 o’clock shadow. His cast had been changed yet again because the last one had been covered in his own blood.

“You’re so fucking stupid, Grant.” she muttered. “I know that you’re sick. I know you’re in pain. But it’s no reason to do something like this. I want you to live, dammit. But… Things just keep going south for you. You should’ve told me that you were hallucinating Garrett….”

She sighed, “Andrew wants you in a residential facility. Somewhere where you can have 24/7 care. I think he believes that we’re not good enough because you happened to slip away just one time.” she continued. “But, that’s not going to work. Hydra’s looking for you. You can’t be anywhere public. This is all that we can do for you right now.”

“You… N-Need. Let me die.”

Skye straightened up in surprise, looking to see Grant’s eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling, “Oh, thank God.” she breathed. “You’re awake.”

“Let me die.” he repeated. “Stop, ah, ah,  _ stopping  _ me. Let me d-do it.”

Skye felt her heart tear in two as Grant sat up in bed, a blank look on his face. He took his casted arm and brought Max closer to him, eliciting a small yip from the puppy. He refused to look at her.

“Grant… Don’t- Don’t be like this, please.”

“Why?” His eyes flickered to the heavy bandaging around his right forearm. “Want I wanted.  _ He  _ always talking.”

Garrett. He meant Garrett.

“Grant, how long have you been seeing him? I saw the surveillance footage. Saw you yelling at thin air and I could tell it was like you were yelling at Garrett.”

Grant kept his eyes locked ahead, refusing to respond to her. He wanted to be dead right now. He should’ve taken the knife and hid somewhere where they couldn’t find him in time. But, no. He just  _ had  _ to listen to Garrett and give into his jeers. Even in death, Garrett still controlled his life. 

“Grant, please talk to me.” Skye begged. “I know that it hurts, but I don’t want to lose you like this. You worked so hard so far, don’t give up now. This is what  _ he  _ wants, Grant. He wants you to lose. He wants you to give in and surrender. You have to ignore his taunts. It’s not worth it in the end.”

Grant’s face twisted up, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, “I don’t c-care about y-you.” he stammered. “W-What you, ah, ah, want. I  _ want  _ to die.” he growled. “C-Can’t live like  _ this.  _ Don’t like it.”

Skye’s face fell, “Grant. Don’t do something that you’ll come to regret. That wound didn’t do much damage. But, you still lost a lot of blood.” She wasn’t sure of what to say, “I wanted to prevent that  _ monster  _ from happening. I stopped your betrayal and I wanted to tear you away from the side effects of Garrett. But, now? It seems like it’s impossible to do so. Garrett seems to have damaged every part of your being. But, you know what? That isn’t going to stop me. That isn’t going to stop the team. No matter how much you protest, it isn’t going to stop us.

And, honestly, things could be better down the road.” she continued. “Don’t give up now because it’s hard. The doctors say that your hands will get better with therapy. Your aphasia may get better as well. You aren’t always going to be like this. I don’t think it’s going to take a damn miracle to cure you.”

Grant’s eyes met hers and she could see the torment in them, “Maybe it will. Nothing else will.” he shot back before starting to stare off into space again, his hand mindlessly petting Max between the ears. 

Skye slunk back down into the chair, not sure of what to do. Grant was so caught up in his misery that she wasn’t able to pull him out of those negative thoughts. He thought that he couldn’t be repaired. Hell, even Simmons was starting to fear that as well. Skye just didn’t want to wake up one morning to find him lying on the floor with his head split open.

Things from the ‘future’ still seemed to be happening in their own sick and twisted way and she feared what could be next. The only thing missing would be Grant being their enemy. But, at this point, Grant was still his own worst enemy. She knew that she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Someone needed to always be there. What happened the day before was a mistake. A fluke. He had slipped away from her for only a little while and it had almost cost him his life.

Perhaps Grant was right. Maybe it would take a miracle to help him get better. 

A cure didn’t seem to be in the realm of possibilities at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I didn't plan on keeping him out for long. Luckily, he's okay. Even if he's angry with Skye for not letting him go. I also plan on ramping up the plot again soon to get it to the next climax if you will. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	25. When it Bleeds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye talk.

(Three Days Later)

Skye stood outside of the common room, watching as Grant played a board game with Trip and Fitz. There was a slight smile on his face, which was surprising considering what had happened earlier in the week. The bandaging was still on Grant’s wrist, hiding the damage from everyone else. Grant had been fairly quiet, though. Barely speaking at all. His last two sessions had been pure quiet as Andrew talked. Any time that she and Grant spent together was in silence, even at night. Grant would just bury himself into her side and would fall asleep.

“He just needs a break.”

Skye frowned looking to see Andrew walking up to her, “What do you mean?”

Andrew stopped, gesturing around him with his hands, “From all of this, I mean. I know that he’s in a special predicament since he’s  _ technically  _ in witness protection, but all of this isn’t good for him. I have been thinking since his session this morning. He needs a change of scenery. Looking at stone cold walls everyday for over a month isn’t good for him. He needs fresh air.”

“You want me to go take him for a walk in the park?”

Andrew smiled and shook his head, “Well, that  _ is  _ an idea, especially with him having Max.” he replied. “But, still. He needs a little bit of a change for once. I think he feels like a prisoner here.”

“And how do you plan on getting him out?” Skye questioned, looking back to Grant. Grant had now moved Max to his lap. “We’re at this base because Hydra probably wants him dead if they figure out he’s still alive. Hell, they probably want me dead. I don’t know if Garrett ever told any other Hydra agents about me. I don’t want to take Grant out for a day on the town and have Hydra swoop in out of nowhere and do something.”

“I could talk to Coulson about it. See what he thinks. Maybe he can have agents tail the two of you.” Andrew took a breath, “I think it would be good as well.”

“Huh?”

“Now don’t think that I haven’t been watching you as well, Skye. You need a break as well. You went straight from being in a coma to being kidnapped to being the primary caretaker of a mentally ill and injured man. You haven’t had a break in weeks now.”

Skye waived a dismissive hand, “I’ll be fine.”

Andrew gave her a stern look, “Skye, don’t ignore your own needs. I know that you love Grant and want the best for him, but that doesn’t mean you have to neglect yourself in order to do so.” he stated. “Take a day off. I’m sure someone else here wouldn’t mind watching Grant for a day or two.”

She shook her head, “After what happened the other day, I don’t want to take my eyes off of him again.” she said, watching Grant. “I’m afraid that the next time I’ll be too late and there will be no bringing him back. At all. It scares me, Andrew.”

“Look, Grant’s a difficult case. He’s probably the toughest that I’ve worked. He’ll take time. But, don’t beat yourself up over the lack of progress. It’s gonna take either a lot of time or a damn miracle for anything to get better soon. Just give it time.

And I’m serious about getting the two of you out of this damn base for a while.” he continued, giving Skye a look. “I’m sure that Fury can make an exception for the sake of Grant’s mental health.” He turned and began to walk away, “I’ll see what I can do. Both you and Grant need a break. Even if it’s only for a few hours.”

Skye watched the good doctor walk away without another word, quickly returning her attention back to Grant. She watched quietly as Grant allowed himself a small smile. He rarely smiled, but when he did it warmed her heart. Especially after what had happened the other day. Grant needed a break for once, but she knew that things were only going to get worse. 

The ‘future’ was still happening, she believed. It was just only a matter of time before the next major event happened.

* * *

(The Next Morning)

Skye smiled as Grant sat down in front of her, feeling the cool breeze in the air. They sat outside a small restaurant in a town several miles away from the base. Andrew had somehow managed to get Fury to allow them to leave the base for a few hours. Her eyes scoured the town square, knowing that plainclothes agents hid nearby. Fury would only let them out as long as they were watched.

“Isn’t this nice?” she asked, making sure that Max was situated at Grant’s feet. She turned her eyes to the plate of pancakes in front of him. Pumpkin to be exact. It still amazed her that he actually did like sweet things. In moderation. 

“Hmm.” Grant was a little uncomfortable being out in public. Afraid that someone would make fun of him for his injuries. That’s why he let Skye order everything for him. He didn’t want to stumble over his words.But, he definitely liked the fresh air. Anything was better than the musty smell of the base. At least here, no one knew to who he was.

Skye watched him with a small smile as he ate his pancakes. Honestly, she had never noticed until recently just how much the man could eat. Well, she guessed that’s what being a top-notch superspy got you. He’d probably work it all off later.

She pursed her lips, mulling her thoughts over in her head. Something on her mind that she had been wanting to mention to him for a long time now.

“You know, Grant. I never told you my real name.”

Grant looked up with a frown, placing his fork down. “Huh?”

She nodded, “I found out my name. My name is Daisy Johnson.” she replied, wondering what his response would be. 

“Daisy.” he repeated. “Pretty. Like flower.”

Her smile grew, “I guess that’s one of the only good things that came out of that ‘future’.”

“D-Do you…” His face scrunched up as he tried to figure out how to say it. “Wanna be named that? Ah, uh, want m-me to call you Daisy?”

Honestly, she hadn’t thought about that. At this point, she felt so disconnected from the ‘future’ that ‘Daisy’ felt like a completely different person. She shook her head, “I don’t know. Daisy may be my real name, but Skye just sounds better. Doesn’t it?”

Grant just looked at her and shrugged. “You found your, ah, family?” he asked. Skye noticed how much clearer his words were coming out today. Probably because he was so relaxed.

She nodded, a twinge of pain in her heart. “Yeah. I did”

“And?”

“And it didn’t go well.”

“Oh.”

Skye took a breath, “It started with you kidnapping me. You had made a promise that you would help me find my family. And, yeah, you did. Even if it was unconventional.” she began to explain. “You led me to my father.” She paused, “Do you know who my father is, Grant?”

He shook his head.

“Calvin Johnson. Or Calvin Zabo. He went by two different names.”

Grant’s mouth fell open, “B-Bad man.” he stammered. K-Killed a lot of p-people.”

She swallowed, “In the ‘future’, you somehow came to know him. Brought me to him and that led to me getting powers.” She signed, “But, truly, I don’t think my father was a bad man. He was driven mad over the loss of me. I was taken by SHIELD while he sought for my mother. Daniel Whitehall had kidnapped her and experimented on her for her supposed immortality. My father found her and stitched her back up, but soon found me missing. I think SHIELD had been looking for an 084, but had found me alone. And he killed the entire SHIELD team on the orders of my mother, who was just trying to protect her village. But this drove them apart.

My father went mad trying to search for me.” she continued. “He eventually teamed up with Whitehall to get me. That’s where you came in. My father wanted to unlock my powers so I could be reunited with my mother.” Her face fell, “It didn’t work for long.” She didn’t mention shooting Grant. She couldn’t do that to him. “I got taken to my mother’s village. Afterlife. A haven for people like me. It’s a small place in the Chinese mountains.”

She paused for a moment, remembering her dreams. Flames filled her mind. Flames bursting from Grant’s skin.  _ “Or is it for people like us?”  _ she thought, still staring at him.  _ “Are you just like me, Grant?” _

“But, at the time, there was a SHIELD faction war or something.” she continued. “Some guy by the name of Gonzalez rose up, claiming that he was the true director of SHIELD when Fury had been the one to appoint Coulson. But, he hated my people. Attacked my mother’s home. She hated SHIELD because of what happened to me. She tried to attack me because I sided with SHIELD in the end. My father killed her to protect me.” Her shoulders slumped.

“Where’s your, uh, father?”

“He went through TAHITI to calm him. He worked as a vet in Wisconsin or something. It’s just a bunch of bullshit. Stuff I wish that I could’ve changed.”

“You changed me.”

Skye blinked, staring at Grant. There was a strange look in his eyes as he bent down to give Max a tiny piece of pancake. He was right. She had changed him. She had changed his future, why couldn’t she change hers?

“Grant, do you think that I could keep that from happening?” she asked, a slight tremble to her voice. “Do you think I can make sure that my family survives?”

He shrugged.

“I know where she is, but… I don’t want to start anything right now. If I come barging in there, it might cause more problems than good.” she said. She didn’t want to cause a war between SHIELD and the Inhumans. They still hadn’t dealt with Hydra yet. And Grant was still too much of a piece of work for her to be worrying about something else. But, she was the only one who knew where Afterlife was. Her mother would be there. Truly, that could wait.

“I have you, Grant. I want my parents, too.”

“A-At least yours can be saved.” Grant turned his gaze away from Skye. “Can’t change mine. Can’t change what happened.”

“Grant…” Skye reached across the table and took his good hand. “Don’t do this to yourself. Maybe, one day, you can rework things with Thomas and your sister. I think that’s salvageable. Especially once they hear what happened to you. Don’t dwell on what can’t be saved. My parents can. Because it hasn’t happened yet.”

Grant kept his gaze away from her. 

“Alright, let’s drop the family talk, okay?” she asked. “Look on the bright side, you get that cast off next week. That’s a step. Then you’ll start PT for the arm and OT for your hands. It still may be a long way off, but you’re getting there, Grant.”

He returned his gaze to her, something akin to fear in her eyes, he noticed. He wasn’t sure of what she was afraid of. Was it him? Was it her family? Or was it simply the unknown? Grant knew that Skye feared that the ‘future’ would still happen. And, honestly, he did, too. What if that monster was still around the corner, waiting for one wrong thing to happen? Waiting to overcome him when he lost everything?

Was that monster still hiding underneath his skin?

Was it waiting to come raging out of him like an inferno, ready to burn down the entire world? 

Would he only become what Skye fought so desperately to destroy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And okay! Skye told Grant about her real name and her parents. And Grant's fear of himself starts to grow. I do promise that the action will ramp up soon. Things are about to be set into motion. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	26. Can't Forget the Price I Paid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A milestone for Grant. And a warning of what's to come.

(The Next Week)

Grant grimaced as the cast saw roared in his ears, turning away as the doctor worked on taking his cast off. The roar soon died down and Grant looked to see his now-free arm. It looked a little dirty, but better than it had been. He frowned, noticing the size difference between his arms. He was  _ definitely  _ going to be in the gym soon. 

“Well, there you go. We’ll go x-ray it in a bit.” the doctor said, stepping back from Grant. “Move it around, see how it feels.”

Grant moved his arm around, flexing it and moving his wrist around to check for any pain. “Good.” he stated. “No pain.”

The doctor nodded, “You sure are a quick healer.” he noted. “You’ve overcome most of your injuries in about six weeks. Now, don’t take this as a sign that your TBI will get better that quickly, though. Neurons heal differently from bone. If only neurons had the healing ability bones do. But, you’ve still come a long way, Agent Ward. I’ll sign off on your PT and OT. The specialists will come in within the next couple of days to evaluate you. 

PT shouldn’t be too hard. I don’t think you’ve lost much range of motion in your wrist or elbow due to confinement.” he continued, placing the cast saw to the side. “The main focus of that will be to regain the muscle strength in that arm to get it back to where it should be for someone like you. OT, on the other hand, will be a little harder. Since the tremors are due to neurological damage, they can’t be fully cured. But, the OT will help you to manage them so you can do things like eat and write. Still, don’t expect to be perfectly aiming a gun anytime soon.” The doctor motioned for him to follow, “Follow me and I’ll get a picture of the bone.”

Skye lightly punched him in his good arm as Grant stood up to follow, “Now you can get back to working on those guns I like so much.” she teased, smiling as Grant gave her a small smile. “That’s one thing you wanted to do, right?”

Grant nodded. 

“Now, don’t be overdoing it yet, though. Especially with that laceration on your right arm still healing.” the doctor announced. “Follow your PT’s guidance.”

Grant grumbled underneath his breath, letting Skye lead him in following the doctor. But they stopped as someone called for Skye.

“Skye, can I talk to you?”

Skye frowned and looked over to see Coulson standing in the doorway to the room. She looked back to Grant, “Grant, go with the doctor, you’ll be fine.” she stated. 

“But,”

“You’ll be fine, let me see what Coulson wants.”

“Fine.” Grant grumbled, continuing to follow the doctor as Skye turned her attention back to the older agent.

“What’s up, AC?”

“Do you think you’ll be able to leave for a few hours tomorrow?” Coulson asked, making sure that Grant was out of earshot. “Fury’s little ‘Hydra Panel’ wants to speak with you.”

Skye’s face fell, “Why? I don’t know much of anything.” she replied. “Grant’s the one with Hydra knowledge.”

“Yet Grant can’t talk about Hydra without spiraling into a dissociative state.” Coulson countered. “Fury wants you to come meet with him, Hill, and Hand. More or less for questioning. He wants to know more about that ‘future’ you saw to see if that will do us any good. Some of the things you saw  _ did  _ involve Hydra.”

“I don’t understand.” Skye pursed her lips. Her information would be no good for the current endeavor. Maybe information on Whitehall and Malick. But Grant’s Hydra was now out of the picture for good. “Why now? It’s been almost six weeks since all of that with Grant happened.”

“Because Fury respected my request to leave you and Grant alone for the time being. But, now that Grant’s physical injuries are healed, he wants to talk. He has a private room setup in a base in Canada. Off of Hydra’s radar. He’s only requesting for you, me, and May to come.”

That caused Skye to frown. “No Grant?” She didn’t like that. She didn’t want to leave him alone.

“Fury doesn’t want to risk getting Grant out of the base just in case. He believes that Grant’s the bigger target than you are. All anyone knows is that Grant killed Garrett. Everything about you was kept off the books. I can talk to Fitz and Trip about entertaining him tomorrow. But, you should be the one to talk to Grant about this. I don’t like how attached he is getting to you. Hopefully having you away from the base for a few hours should help with that. You should be back by tomorrow night.” He turned to leave, “Oh, and Max is with Fitz. Let Grant know that.”

Coulson left Skye standing there just as Grant came jogging up to her. “What did he w-want?” he asked, a slight stammer in his voice. He held out his arm, “Arm good. Not broken.”

Skye smiled, placing a hand on his bicep, “See? I told you that you had nothing to worry about with your arm. Now you can start therapy.” she stated.

“What Coulson want?” he repeated, looking dead in her eyes. 

“Oh, uh, Fury wants to meet with me tomorrow. I’ll be gone for a few hours. I’ll be back by tomorrow night.” she began to explain. “Coulson and May are going with me. That means that Fitz, Simmons, and Trip will be here to watch you. I won’t be here.”

Grant’s face immediately fell and he started to shake his head, “No.” he stated firmly. His hands were starting to shake, fear and anxiety starting to overcome him. “Can’t leave. No. Stay here.”

“Grant, it’s just for a few hours, baby.” she said softly. “You’ll be okay. You’ll be with Fitzsimmons and Trip. Max will be with you, too. Fury wants to talk about the ‘future’ and I know that you don’t want to hear that. Because it might be about Hydra.” She didn’t mention the true reason to why Coulson wanted Grant to stay here. His extreme codependency. 

She knew that Grant had to be watched at all times due to his suicidal tendencies, but he was too reliant on others. That couldn’t work when he got back into the field.  _ If  _ he got back into the field. 

“You’ll be okay, Grant. Nothing’s going to happen to me. It’s in a secure location with Fury, Hand, and Hill. I don’t even know to where it is.” she continued. She moved her hand to his stubble-covered cheek, “You’ll be okay without me for a few hours. Okay?”

Grant stayed quiet and only glared at her. He didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t like being without her. She was the only one that drove away Garrett’s voice in his head. Even Fitz couldn’t do that. Plus, he remembered what happened the last time she had a meeting with a higher-up. Hydra bombed the Hub. Well,  _ he  _ bombed the Hub. But, he didn’t like to dwell on that. Hydra was still out there. There was no guarantee that she was also on their radar. Grant didn’t know what Garrett or Raina had relayed to the terrorist organization. 

“Grant?”

He pulled himself out of his thoughts, “Huh?”

Skye blinked at him, “You’ll be okay, right?” she repeated. “Fitz will make sure that you’re okay. And speaking of Fitz, Coulson says that he has Max. Wanna go find him?”

“Yeah.”

Grant followed Skye out of the medical bay after she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek., a growing dread deep within the pit of his stomach. He didn’t want to let her go without him. Because if something happened, he wouldn’t be there to protect her. He didn’t trust anyone else with her protection. He was afraid that the monsters would get her.

What monsters were out there, though, he didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a shorter chapter but the next chapter is gonna jump into the next arc of the story. This arc is more Skye-centered than it is Grant-centered. But don't worry, it won't take time away from Grant's story. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	27. The Lights are Restless in the Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The worst comes to be.

(The Next Night)

Grant paced back and forth, Max sitting on the nearby rug. The puppy looked at him curiously, whom of which had almost doubled in size since Skye had adopted him. His owner wouldn’t sit down and he could sense worry from him. Max didn’t like it when Grant got like this. 

“Grant, why don’t you sit down? No contact doesn’t mean something bad did happen.” Trip called out, standing to his feet so he could walk over to the specialist. “There’s no telling what Fury asked Skye about. They might still be busy.”

“Supposed to be back  _ tonight _ .” Grant stressed, stopping to glare at Trip. “Past that.” He dug his phone out of his pocket and turned the screen on to show the man. “No texts from S-Skye.” Trip frowned, seeing that the man’s lockscreen was Skye and the puppy. God, Grant had fallen hard for Skye. “She texted, ah, in morning.”

“Still, that doesn’t mean anything, Grant.” Trip continued. “She’s probably just busy. Fury’s a strange man. Hell, she probably doesn’t have her phone on her right now. Don’t worry about it.”

“May? Coulson?”

Trip shrugged, “It doesn’t mean that something bad has happened, Grant. I know that you love Skye, but you have to stop always thinking about the worst possible outcome.” he stated, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I’m sure that they’re okay.”

Grant looked away from him, “Be right.”

“Look, I’m sure that I’m right.” Trip took the man’s other shoulder and steered him towards the couch. “Anyways, Fitz wants to play Mario Kart again. He wants revenge for the last match.”

“Yeah! And I’ll actually beat you this time around! Fitz exclaimed as Trip pushed Grant onto the couch. He handed the man a controller. “No mercy!” But, Grant didn’t smile like Fitz had hoped.

Grant just stared ahead, the controller in his hands. Max yipped and jumped into his lap, but that didn’t even draw his attention. Trip frowned as he sat down into the nearby chair. He knew that the man was worried and, to be honest, he was, too. It was strange that they hadn’t heard anything since the others had arrived at the meaning a few hours ago. It had been radio silent since. Something didn’t sit right with him, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Grant. He didn’t want to make the man’s worry somehow worse. His eyes went to the bandage Grant wore on his right arm. The wound had started to heal days ago; Trip knew that the man only wore the bandage to hide it. He didn’t want something happening that would cause Grant to do something like that all over again.

Still, something just felt wrong. And Trip was soon going to find out that his suspicions were dead-on.

About twenty minutes passed. Fitz had taken the controller from the tranced-out Grant and had given it to Trip since he still wanted to play a race. The engineer and the specialist had been in the middle of a race when Simmons came walking in, a blank expression on her face. She had been in the lab, trying to finish something up. She looked to Trip. She motioned for him to come over to her.

“Trip.” she called. “Can I, uh, speak to you?”

Grant’s head shot up, “Huh? What’s wrong?!” he demanded, quickly standing to his feet. 

Simmons shook her head, “Uh, nothing, I just want to talk to Trip real quick.” She forced a smile that Grant didn’t believe one bit. “Play with Fitz for a bit, Ward. He probably still wants to race.”

Trip casted a worried glance over to the engineer before standing up and handing the controller to him. “Grant, sit back down. It’s nothing.” he stated, knowing that it wasn’t the case. Something  _ was  _ wrong. He quickly headed out of the room, grabbing Simmons and making sure that they were out of Grant’s earshot. 

“What happened?”

Simmons’s blank expression quickly turned into a worried horror, “May just contacted me.” She swallowed, “A Hydra strike team attacked the base they were at. They guess a mole ratted them out or someone hacked their way in.” Her voice was barely a whisper. She couldn’t risk Grant overhearing what she had to say. 

Trip’s face fell and he looked over his shoulder to make sure that Grant wasn’t standing there. “Are they okay?”

She shook her head, “May and Coulson are unscathed. Hand got a broken arm. Fury and Hill are bloodied, but okay. But, Skye… Skye’s gone.”

“What do you mean she’s  _ gone _ ?”

“The strike team took her. We don’t know where.” Simmons’s voice was a mere croak and Trip could tell that she was holding back tears. “But, May said to  _ not  _ tell Ward yet. There’s no telling how he would react. Fury’s already putting a recovery team together. I don’t know why they would want Skye instead of Ward. I guess it’s about her being an alien or whatever she is, but-”

“She’s gone?”

The two whipped around to see Grant standing there, his face pale. Fitz soon came running up, Max hot on his trail. He was holding his cheek.

“I-I’m sorry.” Fitz breathed. “I tried to hold him back, but he punched me and ran.” He bent down and picked up Max. “He’s like ten times stronger than me, you know.”

Grant clenched his fists as they began to shake, “What. Do. You. Mean.” he hissed through clenched teeth. “W-Where?”

Trip raised his hands and slowly approached the man, knowing that he was dangerous when upset. But, he also knew that he couldn’t lie to him since Grant had heard it. “We don’t know, Grant.” he stated softly. “Hydra attacked the base they were at and they took her. We don’t know where she could be.” Fitz’s face immediately fell, horror overtaking him.

Grant’s face quickly twisted up into a snarl, “I want to k-kill them.” he growled. “A-All of them.”

Trip kept his hands raised, “No need to get violent yet, Grant.” he said, almost pleading with the man. “We barely know anything. We-”

“LET ME KILL THEM!” Grant screamed, suddenly swinging at absolutely nothing. A violent light shone in his eyes. Trip had never heard such anger from one man. “I’LL KILL THEM!” He kept swinging at the air and Trip had to jump back to make sure that he didn’t get hit.

Trip held an arm in front of Simmons to keep her away from Grant’s wrath. It was amazing how fast his emotions grew foul and twisted. “Grant, calm down!” he yelled, hoping to get the man’s attention before he hurt someone or hurt himself. “Please, this isn’t going to help get Skye back!” He managed to lurch forward and pulled Grant to the ground, holding the man’s arms behind him. Grant struggled, but soon started to cry. 

“I-I want her b-back.” he stammered, tears streaming down his face as Trip let him go. “They’ll… They’ll…” He drew a line across his throat, his words unable to form ‘kill’. Fitz frowned and sat Max down, allowing the puppy to run towards Grant. Max launched himself into Grant’s lap and Grant wrapped his arms around the small dog, his back heaving with silent sobs. “S-She… Not human… They’ll t-tear her, ah, up…”

Trip frowned, looking up to Simmons. Simmons shrugged, not sure of what to say to the man without setting him off again. She quickly went over to Fitz’s side. He looked back to Grant, “Look, Grant, we’ll get her back. Wait for Coulson and May to get back and we’ll make some kind of plan. Is there any other reason why Hydra would want her?” Grant just shrugged in response. A thought crossed Trip’s mind as he watched Grant’s sobbing form. 

He remembered Skye mentioning that in the ‘future’ Grant had kidnapped her and took her to her father, who had partially teamed up with Hydra. His stomach twisted, thinking that it was a possibility. Skye had claimed that she believed that the ‘future’ was still happening in its own way. Maybe this is what this was. According to Skye, it wouldn’t happen for months, but time really didn’t mean anything here. That was the only explanation. He didn’t think anyone at Hydra knew about her ratting them out. Fury had kept that off books.

Maybe time had twisted itself, causing Skye’s father to already jump into action. But, if that was the case, that would mean bad news. He didn’t know where her father was. So, there was no telling where Skye was. She could be anywhere on the globe. He couldn’t remember if Skye had said where she had been taken to in the ‘future’. Hopefully someone remembered. 

They would have to fight tooth and nail to get her back and there was no way in hell that Grant would be able to do that without further losing himself.

Trip feared that this whole incident would bring out the ‘monster’ Grant had always talked about. The one that he feared that he would become.

If they didn’t do this right, this could be the end of Grant and Skye both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so San Juan is happening. Just a few months earlier than it did in canon. At least they have Skye's information about the 'future' to help them out. Grant, on the other hand, is a completely different case. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	28. I Made the Heart's Desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant makes a vow.

(The Next Day)

Grant was hardly functioning throughout his OT and PT evaluations. He let the therapists do what they needed to do, but he barely remembered what he did. His mind was so focused on Skye and her whereabouts that he couldn’t pay attention to anything else. As soon as the therapists had let him go, he had retreated back to his and Skye’s room, locking himself inside and refusing to open the door for anyone.

He just wanted her back. He wanted her safe and sound in his arms, even if that sounded sappy to him. If Hydra had taken her, then that was bad news. Grant remembered her saying that he had kidnapped her in the 'future'. Maybe this was related. He just had to figure out to why they would take her.

He had remembered Skye mentioning a journal that she had started a few weeks ago. She had been trying to write down everything that she could possibly remember about the ‘future’ so she wouldn’t forget. Just in case it helped them out in the long run. Skye had kept it hidden in the part of the dresser that held her clothes. Grant hated to be digging into her personal stuff, but finding out where she was was way more important than her privacy at this point. He wanted to find a way to help. He knew that Coulson would never let him into the field in the condition he was in.

But, he wasn’t going to sit back and do nothing while Skye was God knows where. Grant would do whatever it took to be the one that rescued her. Even if that meant defying Coulson’s orders and going AWOL to do it. Even if he couldn’t fire a gun, he could still fight. He could still use a knife.

Grant had torn into Skye’s journal, flipping past the pages detailing the Vault. That was something he really didn’t want to know about. He didn’t want to know how SHIELD had treated him there. He stopped when his eyes noticed a part about her being kidnapped by him. To take her to her father. His heart stopped. This was marked as not even being a year into the future. This had to be it. The ‘future’ him had promised to reunite her with her family. And he did fulfill that promise, even if it was in an unorthodox way. He had forgotten about her telling him about that. 

He tore a page from the back of the journal, a page Skye wouldn’t miss. He took a pen off the nearby desk and sat down. He read through it, jotting down what he could. Well, the best he could. He had been working on writing lately and it wasn’t the best. It looked like complete chicken scratch, but he could still read it. 

_ “San Juan… Inhuman temple…. Terrigenesis….”  _ he wrote as he read. His injury had luckily only affected his speech and not his ability to write, despite his handwriting being affected by his tremors.  _ “Skye will get powers…. Lead to her mother…. Somewhere called Afterlife….”  _ Some of the things Skye had written sounded like they wouldn’t happen since SHIELD was still standing, so he left those out. He only focused on the most important things. The things Grant figured would still happen if they weren’t stopped. 

Grant leaned back and frowned, But,  _ were  _ these things events that needed to be stopped? Skye had made it sound like being a part of this Inhuman race was such an integral part to who she was. Could he really take something like that away from her? Yes, he didn’t want her getting hurt, but he didn’t want to do something that would take away a part of her identity.

They would just have to get her back before Hydra had the chance to hurt her. If she fell into Hydra’s hands and they found out that she was the one responsible for ratting them out, she would be a world of trouble. Grant had to find a way to save her without taking away a major part of her identity. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to ignore the sight of the gnarled-up scar on his right arm. 

He wasn’t going to let anyone keep him away from her. He knew that he could still fight. Hell, he could kill a man a hundred different ways without a gun. He didn’t trust his hands to be graceful in his kills, but he could still kill. And, honestly, if the Berserker Rage came bubbling back up, he wouldn’t try to fight it. He would let it overcome him and he would tear down anyone who stood in his way. Grant didn’t want her getting hurt. She had moved Heaven and Earth to ensure that she got him away from Garrett, even if he still wasn’t fully gone from his mind-- Garrett’s image still mocked him from the corners of his vision. Now, he would do the same for her. He knew where she was. He knew that the others were arguing about how to go about getting her back. Time wasn’t on their side here. He had to take matters into his own hands.

Grant was going to get her back no matter what. And he was not going to let anyone stop him. Even Coulson.

* * *

(Elsewhere)

“You know, I should’ve thought that you were involved. You disappeared after Garrett went insane.”

Raina raised an eyebrow, “Hydra was done for. There was nothing left for me here, Skye.” she stated, her voice a purr. She stood on the opposite end of the cell, keeping her distance from the agent. “It was a dead end for me. But, you? You’re not. You’re only the beginning to unlocking the secret behind who I am. Who we are. But, you already know that, don’t you?”

Skye frowned, “I just didn’t think that this would happen this soon. I thought I had more time before  _ he  _ wanted me.” She had already pieced together what was happening. Raina had already ran into her father and had told him all about her. But, this time, there was no Grant to take her to him. Things had rearranged themselves and it was already happening. 

She knew what would happen. She knew that she was in San Juan. Daniel Whitehall had an interest in the Obelisk already, so did Raina. Raina had promised Whitehall that bringing Calvin Zabo in would unlock the secrets behind the Obelisk. She wasn’t sure to  _ why  _ it was happening months before it was supposed to happen, but at least she wasn’t in the dark to where she was. 

And, honestly, she wasn’t going to run. She wanted to go through the Mist and get her powers back. They were such a big part of her. But, she didn’t want Hydra getting their hands on her. Especially Whitehall. She didn’t want to end up like her mother had. She wanted to get her powers and get the hell out of here. She just hoped that her body acclimated to her powers quickly. She remembered how to use them, but her mind was the only thing that had experienced the ‘future’. Her body hadn’t.

Another thought pulled at her mind. The battle between Coulson’s SHIELD and the ‘real’ SHIELD wouldn’t be a thing here. Afterlife wouldn’t be pulled into a needless battle. Could she get through to both her mother and her father, finally getting the family she always dreamed of? She would just have to find a way to convince them that SHIELD weren’t the bad guys. Hell, she still couldn’t figure out why her father would team up with Whitehall, despite what Whitehall had done to her mother all those years ago.

“Then, this should be easy. You know what the Obelisk does, right? Don’t fight Whitehall, Skye.” Raina stated cooly. “Your father will be here soon enough. Isn’t this the happy family reunion you wanted?”

“It wasn’t happy in the ‘future’.” Skye deadpanned, shifting uncomfortably in her chains. “It ended with my mother dead. My father’s mind wiped. You ended up dead as well.”

Raina’s face fell, “What?” Now, she wasn't expecting that.

Skye shrugged, “I don’t remember specifics, but my mother killed you. She was so dead set on wiping out humans in revenge for what happened to her and me… She tried to incite a war between our race and SHIELD. I want to stop that, Raina. I don’t want to lose my mother again. I will not fight this destiny you want. But, I will fight to change what happens after the temple. I want to keep my family. I want to stop my mother from becoming a monster. If that’s possible. Because if this goes the way it originally did… The village that houses our kind will fall. I want to prove to my mother that SHIELD isn’t the enemy. It was Whitehall that did all that to her. Yes, SHIELD was the one that kidnapped me, but they didn’t know any better. They were trying to protect me from the monster that my father had become.”

Raina pursed her lips, “I really need you to explain that future one of these days, Skye.” she cooed. “But, I am glad that you will not  _ fight  _ this. I only sided with Whitehall to get what I want. He was the only one with the Obelisk. That’s the only thing I need, right?”

Skye nodded, looking Raina dead in the eyes, “The Obelisk contains the crystals that are used to unlock our powers.” she answered. “But, it must be taken to the temple. Has Hydra located it yet? I can’t remember its exact location.” Her heart gave a twinge. She had run to it after shooting Grant. She would never do something like that again.

“Not that I am aware of. I haven’t told Whitehall of your vision, Skye. I feel like that will complicate things.” Raina smiled, “We will just have to wait. This can stay between the two of us. We will wait for your father to come and for him to explain things to Whitehall so he doesn’t do anything else that you cannot foresee. It’s best to let this happen as is and not to intervene. Let’s just hope that SHIELD won’t interfere before then.”

And with that, Raina left the cell. 

Now, Skye was glad that Raina was far more interested in the temple than she was in Whitehall. She knew that Raina would keep everything between them a secret to ensure that the temple did happen. The temple  _ needed  _ to happen.

Now, there was no doubt that SHIELD already knew of where she was. She had told them all about San Juan and the temple. They weren’t dumb. Surely someone had remembered what had happened. She wouldn’t be surprised if they were already on the way here.

But, she had to let the temple happen. She had to get her powers back. That was the only way she would get to see her mother. 

To her, unlocking her powers again was the key to starting on the path to saving her family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the whole Skye being gone thing is going pretty fast. But, you should've figured that the journal would come back into play. Skye still wants her powers to happen and Grant seems willing to let it happen as well. But, is Grant gonna be able to get there to help her, or is Coulson going to stop him dead in his tracks? Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	29. To Look Away and Bite the Knife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant fights against Coulson's wishes.

(Later That Day, Elsewhere)

“You are not going, Grant. And that’s final.”

Grant’s face twisted up in anger and he slammed a hand down onto Coulson’s desk, “I  _ will  _ go.” he snarled. “I-I’m not asking.”

Coulson rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, “Grant, you are not cleared for combat. At all. I cannot in good faith let you back out into the field. Especially with something so critical.” he explained. “Fury is clearing us to take a team into San Juan. We will go as soon as possible. The team will consist of May, Triplett, and a few other agents. You are to stay here with Fitzsimmons.”

“I’m not going to stay and d-do-, ah, nothing.” Grant hissed, glaring at the man. “Skye is m-my rookie. My, ah, job to help her.”

“Grant, you received a major brain injury only mere weeks ago. It’s only a miracle that you’re as well as you are now.” Coulson continued, steepling his hands together. “You cannot fire a gun. You aren’t allowed around any kind of weapon on Dr. Garner’s orders. You’re seeing hallucinations of a dead man. There is no way that I could possibly let you go out into the field, Grant. Just trust us. We have the information to where she’s at. We’re just waiting for the clearance to go in. She’ll be fine.” He noted that Max wasn’t with the man. 

Grant frowned, “I’ll do things by m-myself.” he growled. “I-I know where she, ah-ah, is.”

“Yes, you do. But, we know where she is, too, Grant.” Coulson countered. “We know that she’s going to be taken into some alien temple where she’s exposed to some unknown substance that unlocks latent powers. We know that it’s likely that her father is behind this. But, we also don’t have much time. We cannot spend that time arguing. You are  _ not  _ to be on the mission, Grant. You will be more of a liability than you will be help.” He stood to his feet and approached the man, which he would soon learn would be a huge mistake. “Surely, you understand, Grant.”

Grant’s face twisted up in rage, “Y-You…” He grimaced, fighting to find the right words. “Think I’m, ah,  _ trash _ .”

Coulson’s face fell, “Trash?” He hadn’t yet caught on how to decipher Grant’s vocabulary yet. “You’re not trash, Grant.”

Grant took a step forward, slamming a finger into Coulson’s chest, “ _ Useless _ .” he growled, causing Coulson to shrink underneath his gaze. “You… You calling me that. I-I can do stuff. I can fight. I’m not  _ pieces _ .”

“Grant.” Coulson swallowed, trying to hold his ground. He wasn’t sure of what to say without triggering the man, but there was no way, in good faith, that he could let him out in the field in his present state. “It hasn’t even been six weeks since your injury. Yes, you have made strides in your recovery. You have the use of both arms. You can breath on your own. But, you are not allowed weapons. You cannot fire a gun. You go into violent rages whenever you get frustrated. This isn’t about you being a liability. This is about not wanting you to get hurt, too.” He lowered his voice, “What are you going to do if Garrett starts mocking you from wherever the hell it is and you get distracted? And that causes a Hydra agent to get the upper hand and they shoot and kill you?”

Grant gritted his teeth, “If Skye safe… I don’t  _ care _ . Better off dead.” 

Coulson pursed his lips. Oh, yeah. The man had an insane death wish. Hell, that’s probably what he wanted. He wanted to save Skye and get killed while doing so. As long as Skye was safe, he didn’t care what happened to himself. That was the problem, though. Coulson couldn’t let Grant do such a reckless thing.

“My point still stands, Grant. You are in no shape to be cleared for combat. I may have taken over as your temporary SO since you aren’t a full-fledged agent as of right now, but I don’t have that say. Fury does. Fury has control over what happens to you since your situation is so peculiar. Even if I thought you would be okay, I cannot clear you. Just go back to Fitz. You-”

Coulson was cut off as he suddenly found Grant’s hand around his neck. Even if Grant’s hands shook, he still had a vice-like grip. “Don’t call me  _ pieces _ .” he growled. “I’ll do what I-I want.” Pure wrath burned in his eyes and Coulson wasn’t sure if even the Berserker Incident compared to this. “I can do things. I  _ will  _ save her.” He let go of the older man and shoved him back before stalking out of the office.

A frown fell onto Coulson’s lips as he rubbed his neck. He didn’t want to do it, but he would have to place Grant under house arrest. With guards capable of taking him out if needed. And he did mean rendering him unconscious. If Grant wasn’t watched, he would find a way to slip out of the base. 

And Coulson wasn’t about to let that happen.

* * *

(Elsewhere)

Skye frowned, staring at the wall. Her father had yet to come and Raina had stopped by saying that it might be a day or two before he showed up. So, she was left to sit here and do absolutely nothing in the meantime. With only her thoughts to occupy her. Which really wasn’t her best company at this point in time.

She tried to run through every possibility of how things would happen. She knew that there was no way that her father would let her suffer the same fate as her mother, so being experimented on by Hydra was likely out of the question. Her father would kill Whitehall before that would happen. Hell, he had only ‘allied’ himself with the mad scientist just to ensure that she went through the Mist. That’s all her father had ever wanted, to show her daughter who she really was. No harm would come from him unless provoked. 

Another option was that SHIELD showed up and took her back before she even got the chance to go through the Mist. That was highly likely. A part of her wondered if she could break out, find the Obelisk, and get down to the Temple herself. But, she knew that Whitehall likely had the Obelisk under tight lock and key until her father could get here. Even if Raina was doing her a favor by keeping the ‘future’ a secret between the two of them, it kind of hindered her. It didn’t help when she didn’t know where the Obelisk could be.

And the third option correlated with the dreams she had been having and probably had the highest chance of happening. The dreams of flames bursting from Grant’s skin. Skye knew that it meant that Grant somehow went through the Mist with her and Raina. But, how? There was no way that Coulson would let Grant come on the rescue mission. Meaning, Grant somehow showed up here all by himself. And she wouldn’t put it past him to do such a reckless thing. 

That was the most likely option since it had been teased to her already. It was hard for her to comprehend the fact that Grant was likely Inhuman, too. But, could Grant handle powers? He was already extremely mentally unstable. Freakish powers definitely wouldn’t help. She had the experience from the ‘future’ to help her out. Grant didn’t. Grant would be learning from the ground up to control something foreign to him. And she didn’t like that. Unstable fire powers plus an already unstable mind equaled utter disaster to her. 

But, she didn’t want SHIELD to show up too soon and prevent her from getting her powers. She had approximately two days until her father showed up. And she wasn’t sure of how long it would take SHIELD to get here. She knew that they would have to jump through hoops to get permission to land in San Juan without causing a firestorm. It would be the next day at the very least. 

Skye hoped that they remembered about the San Juan story. Hell, she hoped that she was even  _ in  _ San Juan. But, it was the only location of a temple that she knew of, so this still had to be San Juan. She had tried to be as descriptive as possible with them when she had told them the story of the ‘future’.

Or maybe Grant had found her journal. She just hoped that he didn’t take things into his own hands. She knew that Coulson wouldn’t let him come because of his current state. Honestly, she had no idea of how Grant was dealing with this and she truly hated to know. It was likely that he had gone berserk over it. That’s why she hoped that Coulson would find a way to keep him away.

One: Grant didn’t need powers right now. Skye feared that it would only make things worse for him in the long run. 

Two: Grant would only get himself hurt if he came storming in while deep within a blind rage. 

Truly, Skye thought that her best bet was to find a way to slip away, find the Obelisk, and get down to the Temple herself. She knew what to do with the Obelisk, the only problem was trying to find and get to the Obelisk. There was no telling of where it could be. Hell, Whitehall probably had it on him at all times to keep anyone from getting it.. As far as Whitehall knew, her father was the only one that knew how to use it. Raina would keep that secret because it benefitted her. 

But, running blindly to try and find the Obelisk was too risky. Maybe her father would come before SHIELD got to her. She could then take advantage of the situation.

Unfortunately, she was completely unaware of the  _ hellstorm _ that would soon come her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a shorter chapter as an in-between. Next chapter will really set things into motion. I do promise that. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	30. Meet the Flame, Let it Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant takes matters into his own hands.

(The Next Day)

Grant cracked open his door, frowning as he saw the two armed guards outside of the room. They only carried ICERs, but it was clear that Coulson didn’t trust him at all. But for him to place two armed agents to keep him in his room? It was ridiculous. 

_ “I’ve gotta get out of here somehow.”  _ Grant thought, studying the armed guards.  _ “I can’t let them get the upper hand. Luckily, Fitz still thinks I’m in my PT session and has Max. So, I don’t have to worry about Max getting hurt. They only have ICERs. But, I’m done for if one of them has the chance to fire. I just have to disarm one and shoot them both. I’ll take whatever they have on them and I’ll make a run for a quinjet. I can still fly, I think. I don’t think Coulson’s sent a team to San Juan yet. I don’t have much time. I have to do this right.” _

Grant opened the door all the way, causing the agents to turn towards him. He smiled as he approached them, watching as one put a hand on his ICER.

“You’re not supposed to be out of the room, Agent Ward. Coulson’s orders.” one said, approaching him. “Not until the mission is over.”

“Hungry.” Grant stated, noting that the agent was mere inches away from him. “Wanna grab something to e-eat.”

The agent frowned and looked towards his partner, who just shrugged in response. “Then I’ll have someone grab something for you.” he answered. “You can’t-”

“Wrong.” Grant slammed his right fist right into the agent’s temple, causing the agent to crumple to the ground. He flung himself behind the other agent before he had the chance to aim at him. He shot out, grabbing the ICER and wrenching it from his hands. He dug the tip of the ICER into the agent’s neck and fired, the agent crumpling to the ground as blue veins laced across his neck. And for safe measure, Grant walked over and fired a shaky shot into the first. 

_ “Both down in a matter of seconds. Even with me having a handicap.”  _ Grant thought, bending down and searching the two agents. He took a knife off of one of them and took their remaining ICER cartridges. He stood up and put the knife on his belt and stuffed the ICERs into the band of his pants. He hoped for more, but he would have to deal. Hopefully whatever quinjet he stole had better weapons and maybe even mission gear. He couldn’t risk going to the armory. He had to do all of this quietly so he could get out of the base before an alarm went off. 

His best bet was to intercept a leaving quinjet and hijack it. That wouldn’t raise alarm until much later. Grant shifted his jacket to hide the weapons he had stolen as he started to walk down the hallway. He knew the shortest way to the hangar. And, luckily, not many agents took this path. And he didn’t think that many knew he was supposed to be on makeshift house arrest. Grant didn’t care of the repercussions of this. He just wanted Skye to be safe. He didn’t want her falling into Whitehall’s hands.

He had heard stories of Whitehall from Garrett. A cruel and sadistic scientist who longed for the secret of immortality and experimented on nonhumans to find it. According to Garrett, the man was over a hundred years old. But, Garrett had always liked to exaggerate things, so Grant wasn’t sure of how true that statement was. 

Nonetheless, he had to do this right. He was about to storm his way into a Hydra base. It was likely that he would be captured. But, hopefully, that would get him closer to Skye. Skye was the only one that knew what could happen. Hydra would probably just take him prisoner just like her. That could be his best bet, though. Deliberately get himself captured so they would bring him closer to Skye. 

_ “You really are fucked up in the head, aren’t you, son?”  _ Garrett asked from the back of his head.  _ “You have no idea of what Whitehall will do to you if this goes wrong. He’ll have you vivisected just for the hell of it. All for one girl, huh? You really only think with your dick at this point.” _

Grant grimaced as he snaked through the hallways, trying to shut Garrett out as he hid from passing agents. He couldn’t have his problems acting up now of all times. He had to do this right. He had to save Skye before it was too late. 

Garrett laughed again. 

_ “Boy, you’re just dragging yourself into an even deeper hell.” _

And perhaps he was. But, truly, he didn’t care. 

As long as Skye was safe.

* * *

(Elsewhere, That Night)

Skye laid on the cot, staring up at the ceiling. Her father had yet to come and she hadn’t heard of any SHIELD resistance yet. She assumed that she had until tomorrow for her father. But, something didn’t sit right with her.

Even though she knew loosely of what would happen, she was afraid that she was missing something. The ‘future’ was still happening for her. Hell, what happened to Fitz had happened to Grant instead. Something wasn’t right. She knew from her dreams that Grant somehow got powers as well. But, where was he? He had to be nearby, right? If the Temple happened tomorrow, he would have to be by her side, right? She couldn’t piece things together at this point.

Skye was afraid that if something went wrong, she would end up in Whitehall’s hands. Even though she knew that her father wouldn’t let him touch her. She had tried to find a way to get out of the cell, but it was well-built. If Grant didn’t come, she just had to hope that she could take advantage of the situation when her father came. 

She still wanted her powers. They were such an integral part of her and she honestly missed them. She  _ would  _ end up in the Temple one way or another. Even if it was just her and Raina again. Wait. Her heart skipped a beat. If Trip remembered about his death, he would avoid the Temple, right? Had she at least saved him as well? At least  _ something  _ good was coming out of this. She just had to make sure that he stayed away if he was sent after her. She just worried about Grant at this point. And her worries would soon be answered. 

About thirty minutes later, the door swung open and two armed guards threw a broken and bloodied mass into the room. Skye shot up to see Whitehall standing in the door, a smug smile on his face. 

“You know, after what Raina told me about him, I was surprised that he got  _ this  _ far in the unfortunate state he’s in.” he stated, his eyes on the mass on the floor. “All by himself, too. I would send him off for elsewhere, but I think he can be a demonstration tomorrow. Enjoy his presence while you can, Mr. Zabo will be here first thing in the morning.” He turned and the guards slammed the door shut.

Skye shot forward off the cot as the figure groaned and sat up. “S-Skye.” Grant Ward stared at her, an awkward smile on his face and blood running from a cut on his forehead. 

“Grant, you fucking  _ moron _ .” she grumbled, checking him over. Luckily, he just seemed more bruised than injured. She knew that he would come, just not all by himself like this. Hell, she wondered how he pulled such a feat. He wasn’t even wearing mission gear. Just a black leather jacket and jeans. Her fingers ghosted the scar on his head, making sure that it was okay. This man was truly invincible. 

“C-Coulson wouldn’t let me help.” he stammered, his face scrunching up. “Taking too long. He hasn’t, ah, left yet.”

“Grant, how the hell did you get here?” Skye asked. She really didn't care about when SHIELD came at this point. Things were working like how she thought they would. Grant came for her. 

“Took over quinjet. Forced new agent to fly.”

Of course. He hijacked a quinjet in order to get here. Typical Grant Douglas Ward. He’d do anything for her. Even if that meant stealing a government jet and _technically_ taking an agent hostage.

“T-They got me.” he continued. “Took me, ah, here.” He leaned his head against her as she ran her fingers through his hair. “Don’t want you hurt.”

“Don’t worry, Grant, I’m fine. My father hasn’t come yet. I intend to get the upper hand and let things happen.”

He looked up at her with a frown, “You…” He tried to figure out the words. “You still want p-powers?” He pulled a wadded up piece of paper out of his jacket and handed it to her. She couldn't really tell what it said; his handwriting was too messy. But, she could make out " _Skye will get powers... Lead to her mother..."._ Grant _had_ read her journal. He knew what was going to happen to her. 

She nodded gently, standing up so she could help him to his feet, “It’s an important part of me, Grant. I need to get it back.” she stated. “You can’t stop me from doing it.”

“Okay.”

Skye frowned. No resistance from him? That was strange. Maybe had accepted that her getting powers was to be. She didn't know.

She helped him over to the cot, where he laid down and curled up on himself. Now, him stopping her wasn’t the problem; it seemed like he wasn't going to anyways. Him following after her was. Could she let him fall to the same fate as her in the condition he was in?

Or was it always his destiny to have the same fate as her and the ‘future’ hadn’t allowed him to do so? 

Should she just let things happen at this point, no matter what came from them?

Was this always meant to be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit shorter one this time. And I know that it jumps slightly ahead, but we'll be getting Coulson's reaction to Grant running and Skye's father next chapter. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	31. Light Burns Deeper Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye talk.

(Elsewhere)

“How does a man with a fucking traumatic brain injury manage to overcome two elite SHIELD guards and steal a quinjet?!”

May pursed her lips. She still couldn’t believe that Coulson had expected Grant to stay behind and do nothing. This wasn’t a surprise to her. She had expected him to run and try to go for Skye. Hell, he couldn’t even go ten minutes without her. This was probably killing him.

But, if he could easily overtake two SHIELD guards, he could probably get pretty far in a Hydra base. Even if he couldn’t fire a gun, his fists were still deadly weapons. And God forbid if he had anything like a knife. Brain injury or not, Grant was a one man army. The man didn’t need a gun in order to kill.

“Phil, did you honestly think he would listen? He was probably tired of waiting. We  _ just  _ got the clearance to go in.” May stated. “Even if there’s a good chance nothing will happen to her other than these powers or whatever the hell they are, it’s risky. It’s no surprise that Grant wanted to take matters into his own hands.”

Coulson sighed and ran a hand down his face, “No, it’s not a surprise. He’s wrapped so damn tightly around Skye’s finger that I shouldn’t have expected him to stay put.” He frowned, “It just complicates things, May. Grant’s a formidable fighter, but he’s injured. He’s nowhere near his best. What happens if Hydra manages to overcome him? I don’t want to get there and find him dead because he was too stubborn to stay put. And someone might try to hurt him because he knows Hydra secrets. There’s too many unknown variables, May, and I don’t like that. At all.”

“Trip’s getting a quinjet ready.” May stated. “Us three and a few other strike agents are going, so I suggest that you get ready.” She turned her back to him, “Perhaps we can trust Grant to keep the both of them alive long enough for us to get there. It won’t be until the morning when we get there. If it’s really Skye’s father who wants her, then we have time. He probably won’t let Hydra do a damn thing to her by how Skye made it sound like. We get in, find the both of them, and go.”

Coulson steepled his hands, “What about those powers?” he asked. “Should we really let something like that happen? I don’t think we should be dealing with alien powers at the moment.”

May shrugged, “If it’s something that Skye wants, I don’t think you’ll be able to convince her otherwise, Coulson.” she answered. “It’s not like it’s unknown to her. I don’t think that it’ll be a problem for her at all. We just have to get to her before Hydra has the chance to do anything.”

Coulson nodded slowly, “Unfortunately, Skye thinks that she knows what’s going to happen because she thinks she experienced it.” he stated. “Even if that’s true, she can’t possibly know what happens. Look at Grant. She had no idea that she would end up in the condition he’s in. She might think things go smoothly. That she’ll get those powers of hers and will get out of there. I don’t think that’s the case. She can’t foresee everything, May. And that worries me. I’m afraid that she’ll do something rash because she thinks she knows how it ends. Someone’s going to get hurt.”

With a sigh, May began to leave the room, “Then, let’s go. Maybe we can get there before something bad does happen. 

They’re alone out there and no amount of ‘future’ information is going to protect them from Hydra.”

* * *

(Elsewhere)

“You really are a dumbass, aren’t you?”

Grant closed his eyes, weariness settling into his bones as he leaned his head against Skye’s shoulder. “Didn’t want you hurt.” he mumbled. “Others take too, ah, long.”

Skye sighed, taking his hand and putting it into her lap. Her eyes traced the red, angry scar that spanned the length of his forearm. He was so reckless and headstrong. He never thought twice about his own safety. And, right now, he was only thinking about her. 

“Grant, that doesn’t mean you had to come all alone.” she stated. “You could’ve gotten  _ someone  _ to help.”

He sat up and shook his head, “No.” he answered. “No one let me come. Had t-to do, ah, alone. A-And… They won’t let you get, uh, powers.”

Skye swallowed, “Do you really think they would prevent me from doing so?” she asked, still playing with his hand. Physical contact with him made her feel safe despite her current situation. “I think I made it pretty clear that it’s an important part of me. Those powers are who I am.”

_ “And apparently, they’re a part of who you are, too. I’ll be fine with getting powers. I know what to expect. But you don’t, Grant.”  _ she thought.  _ “I don’t think I can, in good faith, let you go through with me and Raina. Your mental state is bad enough as it is. I don’t think I can let you get unstable fire powers. But… That dream I had after he was injured. It’s been proven right so far. His brain injury. The incident with the gun. His night terrors. His suicide attempt. All proven right. Is what I saw there set in stone? There’s no way that I could keep him from following me. Unless… Unless I do something to stop him…” _

She frowned and felt sick, remembering her firing four shots into his side from behind to keep him from following her. But, as she thought about it, he hadn’t hurt her. He had only wanted her to see her father in the ‘future’. He had kept her safe and in return she tried to kill him. 

Honestly, the ‘future’ her was no better than the ‘future’ Grant.

But, stopping him here was key to saving him. She didn’t want to lose him because of unstable powers. Stopping him from following her would help him in the long run. She just didn’t know how to do so without hurting him, which was something she could never stomach to do.

“Won’t stop you…” Grant muttered, his eyes locked onto the cell door. “If t-that’s what you…” He scrunched up his face in thought. “Want. I-Important, right?”

Skye nodded, even though Grant’s gaze wasn’t on her, “Yeah, it is. I went through so much to master those powers and I was nowhere near being a master.” she stated. “Now, it feels like a total reset. I feel naked without them. And since I already know how to control them, getting them this time around won’t be a pain for me. It’ll just be getting them back.”

“Plan?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping to slip away quietly and get down to that temple. I get my powers and blast us out of here. But, I have something a little more important to do before that.”

Grant frowned and looked at her, “Huh?”

She swallowed, “My father. He’s the reason why we’re here.” She sighed, “You do remember what I told you what had happened with him in the ‘future’, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I want to stop that. I want my family back, Grant. Like I told you before. I managed to get you back. I want to do the same with my parents.” she explained, her eyes meeting his. “My father will be the easiest to convince, I think. My mother? Not so much. I have to convince her that SHIELD aren’t the bad guys and humanity isn’t that bad. She’s been through hell and back, so it’ll be hard to change her mind. I have to stop the fall of Afterlife so my people have a place of their own. But, I don’t know how to change her mind, Grant.”

Grant stared at her, a warm light in his eyes. “You… You’ll f-find a way. You’re like, ah, that.” he stated. “Like said b-before. You saved me. You can with, ah, mother, too.”

Skye sighed and turned her gaze away from Grant. She loved his confidence in her, but it honestly didn’t make her feel any better about the whole situation. She had to prevent him from following her while trying to change her father at the same time. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she could actually do it or not. She still felt like things were happening in their own way and were out of her control.

Could she really change what she felt like had already been set in stone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter, but I promise you the next one will be long. I just needed another tie-between before the next chapter. We're getting Cal next. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	32. I'll Cauterize You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Cal talk.

(The Next Morning)

“Now, who is this? I only asked for her to be brought to me.”

Raina smiled slightly, “Mr. Zabo, Agent Ward is her, uh, superior officer.” she stated. “He wouldn’t let her go without him coming as well. He won’t get in the way of anything.” She eyed Grant, wondering what he would do. She expected that Grant would somehow follow, but she hadn’t told Cal about it. If Grant reacted against Cal, there was no telling of what would happen.

Skye swallowed, “He’s my SO.” she stated firmly, taking another step towards Grant. “My superior officer. He won’t hurt anyone unless someone else strikes first.”

Cal frowned, his eyes roaming Grant’s body. He took a note of the fresh scar on the side of his head and the faint tremor in his hands. He suspected that the man had sustained a brain injury. So, he figured that he must be important to his daughter if she trusted an injured man with her life. “Fine. As long as he doesn’t get in the way of things. You’re lucky that Whitehall respected my wishes and stayed out of here. This  _ business  _ is between the two of us. Raina is only here because some of it involves her as well.”

Her father smiled, “But, anyways, I am-”

“You can skip the formal introductions, I know who you are, Dad.”

“Huh?” Cal’s face fell. He looked to Raina for an explanation. She had never met him; SHIELD had taken her as a baby. She wasn’t supposed to know who he was.

“I already told her who you were to make things easier for her.” Raina answered. “Surely you don’t mind. But, it’s not quite the ideal family reunion, is it?”

“Look, I’ve seen this before.” Skye deadpanned. “So, you can cut to the chase. SHIELD kidnapped me as a baby, you blame them, my mother wants to meet me, blah, blah, blah.” She received a sharp glance from Grant. Now, he didn’t think that it was a good idea for her to mention the ‘future’ here. He didn’t want to know what would happen if Whitehall overheard it.

Raina sighed, “Your daughter believes that she experienced almost four years into the future while in a coma.” she translated. “So, she thinks that she’s already been through all of this before. It just happened a little, well,  _ differently _ .”

Cal eyed her, a strange light in his eyes, “Oh, really?” he stood to his feet. “Then you should know of what you are, right? The reason why I wanted you here. To give you your destiny.”

“I know what I am.” Skye answered. “You don’t have to teach me. I just want the Obelisk.”

“So… You know what that does.”

A statement, not a question.

“I take it down to the Temple below and the crystals inside of it unlocks my powers, right?” She sighed, “What I saw wasn’t a lie.”

The strained light in Cal’s eyes grew. It was obvious that he wasn’t expecting her to know about things already. He had planned out a grand reunion where he told her  _ everything _ . But, of course, that had failed. His gaze went to Grant, wondering why she was so damn loyal to a SHIELD agent of all people. He remembered what SHIELD did to their family, how they tore her away from him.

“Then you know what SHIELD did to us.”

“Hydra is who tortured my mother. In fact, it was Whitehall. SHIELD had nothing to do with it.”

“They took you away from me!”

Skye shivered, remembering the stories of the Chinese village. The SHIELD team slaughtered. Her father had already been a monster before then. All the strike team knew was to retrieve an 084, which happened to be her as an infant. They couldn’t help what her father had done. They were just trying to protect her. They didn’t know any better.

“All they knew was that they were protecting a child from a monster. They weren’t looking to tear a family apart. You can blame what happened to mom on Whitehall, though. Yet you’re siding with him right now.”

“That’s only so I could get to you! And he had the only Obelisk I knew of!”

“Still, SHIELD isn’t to blame for what happened. Hydra’s the one who tore us apart. Besides, SHIELD’s my family. They’ve done a lot for me these past few months and I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

Cal’s eyes settled onto Grant and Grant could see a deep, seething rage in the man’s eyes. He had heard the stories of the monster Cal could become. “So, what’s he to you? I think he’s more than your supervising officer.”

Skye stepped between Cal and Grant, sensing that Grant was getting tense. “That’s not a concern to you.”

“I think it’s very well my concern who my daughter is involved with, right? Especially if they’re a SHIELD agent.”

“Grant would never hurt me. He’s proven that many times over at this point.”

Cal’s gaze darkened, “So, you two are a thing?”

“And what does that matter? I’m not here to be lectured about my dating life.” Skye stated coldly, noting how this was already going badly. If her father was going to be a dick towards Grant, then there was no use trying to change him. “I’m here for the temple, right? SHIELD’s not a concern, if that’s what you’re worried about. They know what me getting powers means to me and they surely won’t stop that from happening. And I definitely won’t let them stop me if they decide otherwise.”

A smile pulled at Cal’s lips. Now, he  _ really  _ liked his daughter’s attitude. While he was disappointed that she was loyal to SHIELD, he could deal with that later, he was glad that she was more than happy to accept her destiny. She would make her mother proud. He would have to deal with getting her away from SHIELD later. 

But, Grant was a problem. He didn’t expect his daughter to be madly in love with a SHIELD agent. He had heard that a SHIELD agent had single-handedly made his way here and fought off dozens of Hydra agents. This had to be that particular agent. He appreciated a man who had the same hatred of Hydra as he did, but Grant was still loyal to SHIELD. That presented a problem. There was no way that he could get Skye to Afterlife without him tagging along. And there was no way that he would let SHIELD know where Afterlife was. 

“What did they do with you after taking you?” Cal asked, his voice lowered. “I could never find you. I searched for you for over twenty years.”

“An orphanage. Bounced me between homes for fifteen years to keep me away from you, apparently.” Skye stated coldly, keeping her ground. “I ran off in my teens. Lived on the streets as a hacker for years until SHIELD picked me up, not realizing who I was.”

“You go into their arms after all of that?”

“I admit that they could’ve done better, but I couldn’t ask for anything different now. I just want the future to change.”

Cal frowned, “What happened in that ‘future’ you saw?” he asked, slowly rising to his feet. “What’s so bad about it?”

“Mom ends up dead and you end up with your memories altered so that  _ other  _ side of you never returns.” Skye stated, not taking her eyes off of her father. She noted the wild light in his eyes. She knew that his other side came out with some kind of serum. Did he have that now? Or was the wild light a side effect of all of these years without her? “The village ends up destroyed in a silly feud she started. I want to prevent all of that from happening. And that starts with me getting my powers, dad.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Then you know of your name?” he asked, not really sure of where to take things. He hadn’t expected  _ any  _ of this.

Skye nodded, “Daisy Johnson.”

She could’ve sworn that tears were starting to well up in the corners of her father’s eyes. “Like the flower.” he stated. “Your mother absolutely loved daisies. I thought it was a perfect name. But… Why do you go by Skye if you know your real name? Why deny it?”

“Because Daisy feels like a separate person to me.” she stated. “Skye was the name I gave myself after the orphanage. I don’t feel like Daisy yet.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Cal snapped. “You-”

“That’s what she likes!”

Grant had stepped in between Skye and Cal, his hard gaze on the man. Raina watched curiously from the sidelines, wondering if the two would fight.

Cal snarled at the man, “You aren’t in this!” he yelled. “Stay out of it!”

“S-Skye’s what she likes!” Grant yelled, the tremors in his hands growing worse with his rage. “And I-I am in this! I’ve been with her, ah…” His face scrunched up in frustration, “Longer than you!”

Rage shone in Cal’s eyes, “And I can’t help that!” he yelled. “I can’t-”

“Stop it!” 

Their attention turned to Skye, who was now pulling Grant away from Cal. “Just… Just stop it.” she stated. “We don’t have time for this. I want to do things before it’s too late. Please.” She looked dead in her father’s eyes, “Just go get the Obelisk for me so I can end things. Before SHIELD comes or Hydra gets a funny idea.” She pulled Grant back to her side, who was still glaring at her father. “And don’t try to jump my SO again, please.”

Cal gave Grant another nasty look before turning to Raina, “Tell Whitehall it’s time and that we would like to do this privately.” he stated. “If he even understands what privacy is.”

Raina gave a curt nod and left, not before giving Skye a sly glance.

Skye looked towards Grant, who still brimmed with rage towards Cal. She just hoped that this would work. She needed to do this before SHIELD came so nothing went wrong.

She couldn’t let everything blow up in her face now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So, the next chapter should be where we start getting into the meat of the Inhumans part of this fic. Maybe not quite the big one yet, but it's coming. Any guesses of what will happen next? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	33. Leave it all Behind You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye's destiny starts to come to life.

Grant’s eyes stayed locked onto the Obelisk. Its tempered metal shone in the low light of the room. It didn’t look special to him at all. It was of a strange, polygonal shape, its surface devoid of any markings. But, according to Skye, it was the key for her obtaining her powers. 

“Now, the Diviner holds the key to the temple.” Whitehall explained, staring down at the Obelisk where he had placed it on a table. “Along with Mr. Zabo’s word and my research I can tell that it only accepts those who are of worthy blood.” He smiled, “It doesn’t work for anyone else. In fact, it kills them.” he stated. “But, your father is convinced that you are one of the chosen. So, I would like to see how it accepts you. It has already accepted Raina and she’ll be the one to accompany you down to the temple.”

Skye swallowed and nodded. She had decided to remain silent about the ‘future’. She didn’t want Whitehall knowing and both her father and Raina had seemingly decided to stay quiet about it as well. She had to go along with what the Hydra doctor wanted until she could get down to that temple. She just had to hope that SHIELD wouldn’t show up  _ too  _ soon. 

Whitehall nodded towards the Obelisk. Grant took note of the two Hydra guards flanking him. If they pulled the wrong move, they would be dead. Whitehall smiled, noticing that Grant was eyeing the guards. 

“You know, Mr. Ward, you were an unforeseen occurrence.” he stated. “The fact that you stayed loyal to SHIELD is rather disappointing. Even if you were loyal to John and John alone, you would’ve still been a worthwhile asset.”

Grant’s face twisted up in anger and he took a step forward, “Never H-Hydra.” he hissed. “You can fuck off.”

Whitehall laughed, “You were always infamous in Hydra for that anger of yours.” he chided. “Forget SHIELD and come back to us, surely we can find a way to make you comply.”

Grant started to lurch forward towards the man, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to see Skye looking up at him, a disproving light in her eyes. “Don’t.” she stated. “Don’t mess things up now.”

Grant grumbled underneath his breath and stepped back.

Whitehall returned his attention back to Skye, “Now, let’s get to why we’re here, Ms. Johnson.” Skye shivered at the sound of her real name. She guessed that her father had told him about it. “The Obelisk if you please.”

Skye looked to see an excited light in her father’s eyes. She ignored this and walked towards the Obelisk. Taking a breath, she picked it up, preparing for the burning sensation of the metal. Grant’s eyes widened as the metal began to glow, as well as Skye’s hand. He could hear Whitehall say something praising as blood began to rush in his ears. He could see pain on Skye’s face as symbols blazed to life on the Obelisk’s metal. Was this supposed to be happening? This couldn’t be right. This couldn’t- This couldn’t-

Pain filled his arm and he blinked back to reality. He looked down to see the Obelisk in his own hand. How it had gotten there, he didn’t know. Skye looked in horror as the symbols shone in response for him as well. Her dreams were correct, he  _ was  _ an Inhuman, too. He had gone into some kind of daze and had jerked it out of her hand. 

Whitehall let out a chuckle and looked towards Raina, who looked completely taken aback, “Looks like we have more chosen here than previously thought. Are you sure that your species is as rare as you claim?”

Cal shot to his feet with a snarl, “I am not letting that bastard in that temple with her!” he yelled. “This wasn’t planned! I don’t want some SHIELD agent-”

“You don’t get a say in what happens to Grant!” Skye shot back, getting close to Grant again. Grant remained in a daze, staring down at the glowing Obelisk. She got close to his ear, “Grant, when I say go, attack the guards with that.” she whispered. “Just trust me. We can get out of here and get to that temple.”

“And I think I do!” Cal countered. “I think I should have a say in what happens in my daughter’s destiny! And I’m not about to let some fucked-up SHIELD agent butt into that!”

Skye tried to swallow down her rage. She really wanted to fix things and have her family, but her father was starting to test her patience. If he wasn’t going to accept Grant, there was no way that she could accept him. “Like I said before, Grant’s been in my life longer than you!”

Whitehall raised his hands, “Mr. Zabo, please keep your anger down to a minimum, please.” he stated. “We can’t be doing that here.”

“You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do with my daughter! Do I have to remind you what you did with my wife?” Cal turned his attention to the Hydra head as he closed the distance between them. “You have no say in my family business. At all.”

Skye swallowed, “Now, Grant.” she whispered into his ear, causing him to shiver. “Dig the Obelisk into the guards’ necks.”

Grant nodded and lunged forward towards the guards. Everything was a blur to him as he did as Skye had instructed. He couldn’t quite tell what was going on, but he could hear the guard’s screams as the metal touched the skin of their necks. 

“Grant, drop it!”

Grant jerked back to reality, dropping the Obelisk. It fell to the ground with a clatter. He looked around, focusing back on his surroundings. He looked to see that the two guards had turned to stone, clothes and all, and had shattered to pieces. Cal had Whitehall by the throat while Raina stood at the edge of the room with a sly smile on her face. 

_ “That Berserker shit is coming back, isn’t it?”  _ Garrett crooned from the back of his head.  _ “But you’re not human, boy. Wish I had known that when I was alive. You’re just like that little bitch of yours. Maybe you two were really meant to be a pair after all.” _

Grant grimaced and shook Garrett’s voice out of his head. Skye walked up to him and wrapped her hand around his wrist, “Grant, let’s go.” she stated. “Grab the Obelisk.” She looked to see that Raina had disappeared as Grant bent down to pick up the object once more along with a pistol that one of the guards had dropped. “I know where to go.”

“This isn’t-” Whitehall began, but Cal slammed him into the ground, old rage overcoming him once more. Skye decided to take this opportunity to run off without Cal noticing. She knew that Cal’s rage controlled him far more than Grant’s ever did. And that was  _ without _ that weird serum he would inject himself with. Cal would be too consumed with rage to even notice that she and Grant had left. 

“Are you sure?” Grant asked. “Skye, what’s going on?” He looked down at the glowing Obelisk in his hand as they left the room. “Why are those guys s-stone?”

“That’s a Diviner. If you have Inhuman DNA, like me, it’ll ‘accept’ you. That’s why it’s glowing.” she explained as they jogged through the corridors. “But, it ‘rejects’ those who are just simply Inhuman. Unfortunately, its way of rejecting is death by stone.” She felt sick, thinking of what had happened to Trip in the ‘future’. Had that been stopped already?

Grant stopped, “W-What do you, ah, mean ‘like you’?” he asked, his hand still tightly wrapped around the Obelisk. 

Skye frowned, slightly irritated that Grant had stopped. There was no telling if there was Hydra after them or how far SHIELD was from here. “You’re Inhuman like me, Grant.” she answered. “Meaning, if you go into that temple with me, you’re coming out with powers. Hell, there’s a chance you won’t come out looking the same.” By that, she meant Raina. Since she believed her dreams were true, Grant would only come out with powers. Well, highly destructive pyrokinetic abilities. 

“I’m a-alien?” he stammered, looking at her with a bewildered look in his eyes. 

“I know you’ve read my journal, Grant.” she stated. “I’ll explain things later. We don’t have time. Let’s go.”

“No.” 

Skye’s face fell, “Huh?”

“I-I don’t, ah, want powers.” Grant stressed, his face twisting up. “I w-won’t stop you, but I’m not going.”

“Then give me the damn Obelisk, Grant.” Skye knew that this would probably happen and she was unsure if she wanted Grant getting powers either, but he was holding things up. “We can’t keep standing here.” She approached him and took the Obelisk from his hand, that now-familiar burn reappearing in her veins. “Fine. You can follow me there, make sure that nothing happens. But, you don’t have to go in. You-”

“There they are!”

Grant’s head whipped around to see three armed Hydra guards. His mind went on autopilot as one raised a pistol and he threw himself on top of Skye. A gunshot rang out and Grant hissed as a bullet struck his shoulder. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the pistol he had taken earlier. “Skye, run. C-Cover you.” he muttered, helping her to her feet. 

“Grant.”

“Go!” 

Skye gave him a hesitant glance before turning and running off. Grant aimed a shaky shot at the guards, firing a few shots before running after Skye. He wasn’t sure if he had hit any of the guards or not. His mind has focused solely on going after Skye and making sure that the guards didn’t get her. He found an open excavation hole in a tool-filled room and could hear echoing footsteps down there.

“Skye!”

He stowed his gun and made his way down the rope into a dark and dank corridor. He saw Skye turn a corner and he ran after her without thinking. He saw a door starting to close as Skye slipped inside. “Skye!” He ran at full-speed, his long legs easily crossing the distance between him and that room. He managed to slip inside just as the stone door rumbled shut. 

“Grant.”

Grant pulled back to reality to see the Obelisk on some kind of pedestal, both Raina and Skye standing around it. His stomach fell as he realized that he had followed Skye into the temple. Without even realizing. The very thing that he didn’t want to do. But, his worry for Skye had overcome everything else. He felt like he had walked into his own doom. He didn’t want powers. That was the very last thing he needed right now. 

He felt like he had just followed Skye right into hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they're both in the temple! I know it's not much of a surprise, but it's happening. You don't have to worry about Skye, Grant on the other hand is a completely different story. Any guesses of what's to come? And please leave a comment! I want to know if I'm on the right track or not. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	34. Some Things Don't Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The change comes.

“You know, I didn’t think that three of us would come out of the temple today, but Agent Ward is really full of surprises.”

Grant snarled at Raina before running to the sealed stone door, “It’s g-gotta let me o-out.” he stammered, his voice small. “I can’t be here. I want out.”

Raina’s lips twitched, “Unfortunately, that door won’t open until the process is over. You have nothing to worry about, it’s only a matter of what you become.”

Skye glared at her and ran over to Grant’s side. “You aren’t helping, Raina.” She pulled Grant away from the door, noticing the all-too-familiar glaze starting to coat his eyes. He was starting to shut down due to his fear of the situation. “This isn’t what he wants.”

“It’s in his DNA. It’s as much his destiny as it is ours. To deny it is going against his very being.” Raina stated, walking up to the pedestal and readjusting the Obelisk. She smiled as it clicked into place and the pedestal lowered slightly. The Obelisk glowed as it cracked open, its side lowering to reveal the crystals inside.

“Raina, don’t! Let’s find a way to get Grant out of here first!” Skye snapped. “I know that this is what you want, but Grant doesn’t want it. He needs to get out of here before that thing opens up.”

“Like I said, Skye, we can’t get out of here until the process is over.” Raina’s eyes were transfixed onto the crystals, a slightly wild light in her eyes. “Agent Ward will just have to deal with whatever he’s given. Hopefully, it’s something that suits him.”

“Skye.” Grant whimpered as he pressed up against her, his hands starting to violently tremble. Fear started to cloud his mind and muddle his emotions. “I wanna go. I f-fucked up.”

“Shhh. It’s okay, Grant. You’ll be okay. Whatever happens, I’ll help you through it.” Skye whispered. She ran a hand through his tousled hair. “You’ll be fine, baby. I promise.”

Grant remained silent. 

He shut his eyes as he heard the crystals shatter. He heard something hiss. He refused to open his eyes as he felt  _ something  _ crawl up his skin. It felt heavy. Like rock.

“It’s okay, Grant.” he heard Skye repeat. It sounded like she was far away. “It’s okay.” Was she really speaking or was he just imagining it?

He felt like he was suffocating. It started to grow hotter and hotter, like he was literally in hell. It was like someone had stuffed him into a fireplace. The Berserker rage started to bubble up his throat as a result, mixing in with the extreme heat. A part of him wanted to break out and  _ burn  _ everything around him. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry. But, he couldn't find his voice as the flames burned in his veins. 

Was the ground rumbling beneath them? It was so hot. He was thirsty. He was pitch-black and it felt like an eternity had passed before light started to crack into vision. Or was that fire?

Was he in hell? He was definitely in the depths of hell itself.

He felt the ground shake again as more light filled his vision. “Skye!” he tried to scream. “W-Where are you?! Skye!”

The heat only grew. Hotter and hotter. But, the funny thing was that he didn’t feel like he was burning. The shell fell away, but he could only see flames. He blindly reached out, the tremor in his hands long gone. “Skye!” He couldn’t see her. Where was she? Had Hydra gotten to her? How long had it been? He didn’t know. He was all alone. There was no one nearby.

A warmth started to grow in his chest, like he wanted to explode. He couldn’t see her. Raina was gone, too. He couldn’t lose Skye like this. Not like this. He screamed out, the warmth exploding and flames bursting out of his skin. The flames overcame him, red coloring his vision. He wanted to burn. He wanted to destroy. He wanted to kill Hydra before they could find Skye.

And just like that, it was like the devil himself was born in that temple. 

Ready to raise hell for the woman he loved.

* * *

(Later)

The quinjet landed nearby the temple. And Coulson, May, and Trip walked out along with a few strike agents. Trip whistled, seeing the damage and the flames billowing from the ruins.

“Was there an earthquake?” he asked. “Or an explosion?”

“Surveillance reports an earthquake of about 7.0 magnitude about 40 minutes ago.” May stated. “But, it was centralized to just this area. The ruins are the only place that is damaged according to preliminary reports.” She pointed at the flames, “But, that’s new. They mentioned nothing about a fire. Plus, they’re too dark to be normal flames.”

Coulson wrinkled his nose, “Does it smell funny to you? Like rotten eggs?”

Trip shrugged, “Maybe Hydra had some weird chemicals being stored.” He frowned, “Didn’t Skye say something about her powers being related to quakes or something? Maybe she already got her powers.”

“Then where’s those weird flames coming from?” Coulson asked, starting to walk towards the burning ruins. “Be on the lookout. Something’s wrong here. And I don’t like it.”

The makeshift team made their way towards the burning ruins. They paused when a scream rang out. A scream full of pure and utter rage. And it sounded  _ familiar. _

“Was… Was that Ward?” May asked, giving Coulson and Trip a wary look.

Coulson swallowed as his stomach began to churn, “I think so. Something’s wrong.” he stated, continuing his pace. “We need to get in there. Now.”

But, they didn’t make it inside the ruins. Before they could find a way inside, Skye came running out to their surprise. Luckily, she looked unscathed. Dirty, but unscathed. 

“Skye!” Coulson exclaimed, running towards her. “Are you okay?”

Skye swallowed and shakily nodded. “I-I’m fine.” She looked back towards the burning ruins, “But… I don’t think Grant is.”

“Skye, what do you mean?”

“He… He ended up in the temple with me. I think those flames are from him.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Wait. Hold on.” Trip raised a hand. “Grant’s like you? I remember you saying something about Raina being like you, but not this”

Skye nodded, “Yeah. Uh, this didn’t happen in the ‘future’.” She failed to mention that it had been Trip who had ended up in the temple with her instead of Ward. Trip ended up dead and Grant with 4 bullets in his side.

“Skye, where is he now?” May asked. “Where did he go?”

“He came stumbling out of the temple on fire. A few Hydra guards tried to attack him and he… Well, he lost it. He can’t control himself. Not like I can. I’ve been through this before. He hasn’t. He has no idea of what the hell’s going on and that’s just mixing in badly with his mental issues.”

“Great. Pyrokinetic Grant Ward. Just what we needed.” Trip groaned. “That’s just great. Skye, you and Grant are inseparable, surely there’s some way for you to stop him, right? Please tell me there is.”

She shrugged, “I… I don’t know, to be honest. I got out of there so he could cool down. I know that he wouldn’t forgive himself if he accidentally hurt me.” she explained. “And I don’t want to use my powers against him. I don’t want to scare him. But, I don’t know if I could break through to him right now. I think he’s terrified.” She looked back to the flaming ruins, “He didn’t want this. He accidentally followed me into the temple because he was protecting me from Hydra agents.”

Coulson frowned, “He didn’t want this? That makes it sound like he knew what he was.”

Skye bit her lip, “He, uh, did. Whitehall. I don’t know if I mentioned this before. But, he had something called a Diviner. It’s an object that contains the crystals that give us our powers. If you grab the Diviner and you’re like us, it glows. Grant snatched it out of my hand because he thought it was doing something to me. It glowed in his hand.” she explained. “He grew scared, saying that he didn’t want powers.”

Coulson winced as something exploded, “Well, looks like he got the complete opposite of what he wanted.” He turned to look at Trip, “Trip, go with Skye and try to calm Grant down. You have authorization to use your ICER against him if you have to. If it’ll work against him.” He looked at May and the other strike agents, “We’ll go in and round up any Hydra agents we can find. I’ll radio back to the Hub to let them know we might have prisoners.”

Trip nodded and ran off with Skye towards the flaming ruins. He had fear building up in his chest. At this point, he loved Grant like a brother. But, he feared him when he lost a hold on his anger. He hated to see what Grant was like scared, enraged, and with pyrokinetic abilities 

“I think he’s in there.” Skye called, pointing to a room that had smoke pooling out of it. She paused, feeling Grant’s vibrations. Relief had settled into her bones once she had broken out of the cocoon and she had felt the all-too-familiar buzz of her powers. At least she didn’t have to relearn how to use them. It was like riding a bike. She could never forget. 

But, Grant was a completely different story. This was all too new to him. It was too much weight on an already-broken mind. But, she couldn’t feel his anger anymore. She only felt fear.

“Skye, I think you need to hold back. He-”

“He’s just scared. I can feel it.” she said, cutting Trip off. “I think his anger is long gone. He needs me.” She made her way into the smoke filled room, not waiting for Trip to respond. She didn’t want Trip trying to get her away from Grant when Grant needed her the most.

“Grant?” she called, swatting the smoke away from her eyes. “Are you in here, Grant?”

A whimper to her left caught her attention and she spun to see a hunched over figure crouched low to the ground. “G-Go away.” it stammered, fear lacing its voice. “I don’t want to hurt you, Skye. I can’t… I can’t control it.”

“Grant…” she started to walk towards him. “I trust you. I know that you won’t hurt me.” She stopped as the smoke cleared and she could fully see Grant. His clothes hung off of him in burned tatters and soot stained his skin. She tried to ignore the 5 bodies scattered around the room, burned beyond all recognition. She just had to hope that they were Hydra. 

He looked at her, fear shining in his eyes, “I don’t remember killing them.” he answered as if he knew what she had been thinking. “I don’t remember anything between that temple and here.”

Skye’s face fell, “Grant, your voice.”

“What about it?”

“That’s the first time you’ve spoken clear sentences since then.” She couldn’t believe it. Had the terrigenesis  _ healed  _ him? If so, how much had it healed him? Was his brain injury gone? His tremors? 

His face fell as realization started to settle in, but he remained silent. Honestly, it felt like cheating. He had gone through so much just for it to be magically erased by alien powers. 

Skye walked towards him again, kneeling down next to him, “Trip’s outside and Coulson and May are waiting, Grant.” she whispered, taking his abnormally warm hand and placing it against her cheek. “I don’t think they’re mad at you for what you did, but they want to get you out of here before anything can happen.”

Grant looked away from her, “They… They’re just going to be afraid of me.”

“No, they’re not. I’ll make sure of that.” She sighed, “Grant, I know just what you’re going through. I can help. You just have to let me help. Are you going to let me help?”

He kept his gaze away from her, refusing to look at her. He also remained silent, not wanting to talk.

Skye felt fear start to churn in her stomach, hearing Trip call for her out in the hallway. Grant’s mental state was already starting to slip back to where he was after his injury. If not worse.

She wasn’t worried about herself, but Grant was another problem. Her parents could be put on hold for him; he was far more important to her at the moment.

Grant was slipping into a mental hell that she wasn’t sure if she could ever fully pull him from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Grant has powers! And it seems like the terrigenesis healed him. I know that it does seem like a cheat for everything that he's gone though, but don't worry. That'll be dealt with. Especially on Grant's end. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	35. I've Felt the Weight of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Simmons talk.

(That Night)

“It’s not contagious, Simmons. I swear that we’re fine. Grant needs time.”

Simmons pursed her lips, “So this ‘Mist’, it activates your powers?” she asked, watching as Grant fitfully slept in an observation pod. 

Skye nodded, “It activates the gene that makes the Inhuman who we are.” she answered. “Activating said gene causes a mutation called  _ terrigenesis _ . The mutation ranges from gaining powers to complete physical mutation. Grant and I are the lucky ones.”

“But, Grant seems to be having a harder time with it.”

Skye sighed and shrugged, “I think it’s because I’ve already been through this before.” She rubbed at her arms, feeling the all-too-familiar pain deep within her bones. “My body isn’t quite used to them, but my mind is. I know how to control them. I know how to keep myself stable. Grant? Not so much. It’s new to him. His body is still changing.”

“Skye.” Simmons wasn’t sure of how to put this. “A normal body temp is anywhere from 97 to 99 degrees fahrenheit. His body temp right now is 116. He should be dead. Vital processes start to shut down at 104. But, he only seems to be mildly discomforted. I just don’t understand. His heart rate is through the roof. Blood pressure, too. Like I said, he should be dead.”

“Terrigenesis changes an Inhuman’s body for it to be able to withstand the powers. But, there is a buffer period in which the body has to get used to the powers.” Skye explained, her eyes still on Grant. He wore a tight SHIELD medical suit since the clothes he did have on had fallen off on the quinjet back to base. “My bones would shatter under the force of my powers. It eventually got better. But, I’m afraid that I’ll be back to square one with that. I don’t know what the buffer period would be like for him. But considering his skin didn’t burn off in that Temple, it might be different. I don’t know.”

Simmons nodded, taking everything in. Honestly, it was too much for her to process. But, the study opportunities would be endless. “I’m not too worried about you, Skye.” She motioned for her to follow and headed into the isolation pod, “But a normal body temp that high has consequences. That’s bound to cause a high metabolism for sure. His caloric intake would be through the roof just for him to stay awake. His diet would have to be greatly changed. Plus… Watch this.”

Skye’s heart leapt into her throat as Simmons picked up a scalpel and walked over to Grant. “I noticed this when I tried to take some blood earlier and I accidentally nicked him with the needle.” Simmons placed the tip of the scalpel onto the skin of Grant’s open palm and made a small cut. Nothing too bad. She stepped back and let Skye walk up, just as the blood burned away and the skin sealed up. Skye’s mouth fell open.

“His healing ability is through the roof, Skye.” Simmons explained, placing the scalpel down. “You did mention that it seemed like he was speaking clearer, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, it’s possible that either that change or these powers healed his TBI. It’s possible that it accelerated the neuroplasticity ability of his brain and allowed the neurons to rewire themselves. Or the neurons regenerated and are no longer damaged. I’ll have to perform scans when he’s awake just to make sure. But, this? This is amazing.”

“I don’t think he’ll think the same way, Simmons.” Skye stated, tracing a finger around Grant’s now-healed palm. “I’m fine with who I am, but Grant didn’t want this. Him ending up in the Temple with me was an accident. He went on autopilot when trying to protect me from Hydra agents. He’ll probably freak when he wakes up.”

“I can’t keep him unconscious, Skye.” Simmons answered. “I don’t think his metabolism would allow for any sedatives or anything. Once he’s awake, there’s nothing that I can do. Is there not a way to, uh, inhibit his powers so he doesn’t hurt himself.”

Skye shrugged, “In the ‘future’, there were mechanical inhibitors that SHIELD developed in order to keep powers locked down while Inhumans were in containment. But, I don’t remember who made them or even how they worked. I could probably ask Fitz and Mack if they could work with you to figure something out. I didn’t like the idea of the inhibitors, but I think Grant’s an exception. I don’t need him bursting into flames every time he has a panic attack or a nightmare. Just because his physical trauma was healed doesn’t mean his mental trauma was, too. He’s got a major rage issue. He lost it back in San Juan when a few Hydra agents tried to attack. It was like he was something else, Simmons. He lost complete control of himself. He can’t control his powers like I can. It’s like his rage controls him and makes his powers go absolutely haywire.”

“Then, should we keep him in one of the containment cells in the Vaults? Just in case-”

“No!”

Simmons stumbled back as the ground beneath them gave a sudden jolt. Her eyes shrunk in fear as she stared at Skye. “W-Why?”

“It’s… It’s just that’s where we kept him locked up for months in the dark in the ‘future’.” Skye answered. “It’s bad memories and I don’t want to do that to him here.”

“It would only be at night, though.” Simmons protested. “Just so he doesn’t hurt anyone in his sleep. You can watch him during the day, Skye. But not in your sleep.”

Skye’s face hardened, “He will not be going into one of the Vaults, Simmons.” she stated coldly. “And that’s final. I am not doing that to him here. He needs to be taught how to use his powers, not locked away like some kind of monster.”

“Skye, I’m not saying he’s a monster. It would be for his own safety. Coulson would probably recommend the same exact thing.” Simmons pursed her lips once more. “Not everyone here would be as understanding of what you two are as we are, Skye. If Grant freaked and accidentally hurt the wrong person, there’s no telling of what would happen.”

“I know that’s a risk, but it doesn’t mean he needs to be locked away, Simmons.”

“Look, these ‘Inhumans’ are something we don’t understand. I-”

“I’m standing right in front of you. I’ve already explained it to you, Simmons. Aliens experimented on humans a millennia ago and created a half-breed race. This race grew too powerful and the aliens tried to exterminate them. But the race went into hiding and interbred with humans making it impossible to exterminate. Terrigenesis is what activates the Inhuman gene and triggers the mutations that give us our powers. It’s actually fairly simple. SHIELD has probably run into plenty of Inhumans before, they just didn’t know what they were.”

“Still, there’s so many unknowns, Skye.” Simmons protested. “There needs to be study. There needs to be-”

“We are not science experiments, Simmons.” Skye all but growled, looking dead into the biochemist’s eyes. “I know that you’re interested as a scientist, but we aren’t beings for study. We’re different. That’s all.”

“Fine.” Simmons stated simply, turning her back to Skye. “I get it. But, I still need to run tests on Grant until he wakes up. It’s like he’s in pain, so I don’t think his body is fully adjusted to the ability to make flames.” She looked back to Skye, “Is that okay?”

Skye’s shoulders slumped, “Yeah, it is. Sorry, I just… I got carried away. You treated this differently in the ‘future’.” she admitted. “I just don’t want you ending up like that. Treating us like some kind of disease that needs to be cured.”

Simmons’ face fell, “Now, why on Earth would I do that, Skye?” she asked. “You’re a friend. Yes, you’re a little different than me, but that doesn’t mean I think you’re some kind of disease.”

“Then the ‘future’ really was fucked-up after all.”

Simmons returned her attention back to Grant, monitoring his sky-high vitals, “I don’t think I would’ve liked this ‘future’ me.” she stated, trying to change the subject. “What was I like?”

“Well, you abandoned Fitz after his brain injury to go undercover in Hydra because you couldn’t stand being around SHIELD or him, so there’s that. He started hallucinating you because you weren’t there.”

Simmons blanched, but kept her attention on Grant. She wasn’t sure of what to say. “I would never abandon Fitz like that.” she stated, her voice low. “I don’t know what kind of ‘future’ that was, but it seems like a wrong timeline.” She turned to look at Skye once more, “Do you think pulling Grant from Garrett changed that timeline or whatever? Fitz has always said that time is complicated. I don’t think you can change the past.”

“Well, it’s not changing the past if the future technically never happened.” Skye stated. “I don’t think time or timelines are involved here. Something showed me the future and allowed me to  _ prevent  _ it from happening. Yeah, things are now happening that I would’ve never expected, but anything’s better than that ‘future’. That ‘future’ ended with Grant dead and us getting stuck in a virtual world. I know it sounds like nonsense, but at least I think I prevented that nonsense because it all stemmed from not giving Grant a chance.”

“But, this Inhuman stuff still happened, though.”

Skye shrugged, “My father was already out there looking for me. That couldn’t be changed.” she answered. “Some things are still happening, taking the place of others. Grant got Fitz’s brain injury. My father still found me. But, I intend on making sure that nothing else from that ‘future’ happens. There are some things I still need to change. But, right now, Grant is my first and only priority. I don’t need to get myself into something when Grant isn’t even himself.”

“Skye, don’t shoulder this burden alone. You aren’t Grant’s caretaker.” Simmons said, the expression on her face soft and kind. “That isn’t your job. If there is something you need to take care of. Especially if you think it helps to prevent that ‘future’ from happening, then do it. All of us have a part in helping Grant. It isn’t your sole responsibility to do so.”

Skye’s shoulders sagged with the weight of Simmons’ words. Yes, she was right. Almost everyone else had told her the same thing. Grant wasn’t her sole responsibility. But, she still felt responsible for everything that was happening to him. She thought she could’ve found another way to save him from Garrett. She thought that she could’ve found a way to keep him from following her into the temple. 

And God forbid the guilt she would feel if he ended up falling to his own powers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I do promise that Grant will wake up in the next chapter. I am currently trying to figure out how to speed things along since I start grad school soon and will likely not have a lot of time to write. But, I still want to get to Skye repairing her family. I will figure out something, but don't be alarmed if this fic ends up having long waits between updates. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	36. Oh, My Infidel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye talk.

(The Next Day)

Skye frowned as she watched Grant from the doorway. He hadn’t moved in almost an hour. He had just been staring at the wall from the bed. Skye didn’t like it one bit. She could tell that he was falling deeper into his depression. She was just lucky that she had been able to move him to their room so he didn’t have to stay in the Vault.

“It’s not fair.” he croaked after a few minutes, almost startling her. 

“Huh?”

Grant slowly turned his head to look at her. He gestured at himself, “All of this.” he answered. “I can… I can talk clearly again. My hands barely shake. My issues were gone in a matter of seconds. It feels like cheating. I was working so hard to get better and it was all for naught in a matter of fucking seconds. I feel like I cheated.”

Skye’s face fell as she made her way to the bed. “Grant…” She really wasn’t sure of how to comfort him. He had been so intent on getting better before the Temple had happened, so of course he felt like it was cheating. She remembered his cries as he wasn’t able to do the simplest of exercises in his rehab due to the shake of his hands. Now it was all gone. 

Well, not all the way gone. Skye could see a faint tremor start to appear whenever he got frustrated with himself. Before the flames started fighting to get out. Honestly, there was probably some psychological factor to his tremors. Terrigenesis healed his physical wounds, but not his psychological ones. Her eyes trailed over the thick scar that peeked out of his hair and the ropy one that was stark white against the skin of his forearm. She was now afraid that another one would soon appear. 

Grant almost laughed, keeping his gaze away from Skye. “It’s kind of funny, you know. Garrett fought tooth and nail to find a way to survive. To heal himself.” he stated. “I’m the one who got the cure that he wanted in the end. I don’t like it. It just… It just feels like cheating. Everything that was wrong with me was wiped away in a matter of what? Minutes? It just seems wrong. What was all of that suffering for?”

Skye bit her lip, not really sure of how to respond. It was clear that this was all making his mental issues worse. She didn’t want to make things worse or set him off by saying the wrong thing. They still didn’t know the extent of his powers yet. Skye was afraid that what he had shown back in Puerto Rico was only a sliver of what he was capable of. She hated to be the next person that angered him. 

Grant was unstable. Newborn and explosive abilities on top of a crumbling mind was a time bomb waiting to happen. She was used to her powers because she had mentally been through it before, Grant hadn’t. No, he wasn’t a time bomb waiting to happen, he was already one. It was just a matter of who made him blow and what that explosion would invoke. 

“I didn’t ask for this.” Grant muttered, his eyes still turned away from her. “I didn’t ask to be turned into some fire-spewing  _ freak _ .” His voice morphed into a growl just as Skye’s stomach did a double flip. She knew that it was only a matter of time before he started talking like this. Thinking that he was some kind of monster. 

“Fire is what got me into all of this shit in the first place.” Grant hissed, not letting Skye say anything in response. “Burning down my house is what led Garrett to me. I still wake up at night smelling the stench of the burning wood. Hearing the explosion of the furnace.” His eyes were glazed over and dull. Like the life had been sucked right out of them. Worse than they ever had been. That’s what scared her.

There was no telling what was hiding underneath. Inhumans always paid a price for their powers. Her powers shattered her arms. She remembered what had happened in the Temple. How he had lost himself in pure and utter rage. Was that the price he paid? Had his newfound powers created a monster out of his already-present rage? She feared to know what would happen if he was really pushed to the brink. 

“Now, all that’s right underneath my skin.” Grant continued, still refusing to look at her. “I can’t control it. How many people am I gonna end up killing by the time things are over? You say these powers healed me, but that’s not the case.” He finally looked at her, his dead and dull eyes drilling right into her. He looked so tired and she didn’t blame him. Grant had been through hell and back several times over now. 

His scars shone brightly on his pale skin and dark bags hung heavy underneath his eyes. Skye knew that she would have to watch him even closer now. She wished that he could have a break for once. But, it always seemed like something new and much, much worse was lurking around the corner for him. He had already paid for his mistakes many times over now and Skye wasn’t sure what he had done to anger whatever deity watched over him. 

To her, it wasn’t fathomable for one man to suffer through so much. At this point, she feared that his next attempt on his life would be his last. That she would walk in to find him dead in a puddle of his own blood. Far worse than what had resulted in the scar on his wrist.

Skye reached out and placed a hand against his bearded cheek. “Grant, I am going to be honest with you. I don’t know what to say.” she stated softly, looking right into his dead and dull eyes. “I… I can help you with the powers. I’ve been through this before. Well, at least I  _ think  _ I’ve been through it before.” She shook her head, “Anyways, I can help you through this part. I know the powers seem like a cheap shot at being healed. I know that you were working so damn hard at trying to get better and all that hard work was ripped away from you in a matter of minutes. I don’t know how to help you with that. But, like I said, I can help you with the powers. I can help you find a way to control them.” He looked away from her and she didn’t force him to look at her again. She knew that she couldn’t make him do something that he didn’t want to do.

“Grant, I just don’t want all of this to cause you to give up.” she continued. “I know that it’s hard.” Her voice was low and soft. She moved and guided Grant downwards so that his head was resting on her lap. She started to thread her fingers through his jet-black hair, a motion that she had found that he liked some time ago. She would’ve never thought that the mighty Grant Ward would like something like this.

“Yes, it may take a while, but you’ll get through it. I know it’s hard, but don’t give up. Please. I can’t stand to almost lose you again.”

Grant closed his eyes, a grimace on his face, “I’m… I’m just so tired.” he muttered. “Shit after shit just keeps happening. Things just keep getting worse and I’m tired of it. I defied everything to rescue you and look what happened.”

“Don’t blame yourself for this, Grant. Please.”

His grimace just deepened and he remained silent. Skye knew that she wouldn’t be able to get him to talk again any time soon. She kept slowly running her fingers through his hair, hoping that it would help to calm him. 

But, she knew it wouldn’t help at all. She was afraid that nothing she could do would help him at this point and that he would only keep spiraling down deeper into the hell he thought that he was in. 

Maybe there was no pulling him back out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shortness. This was a particularly hard chapter to write. Real life threw me through a loop and I'm starting to lose ideas and motivation for this fic. So, updates might be few and far between for a while. Sorry about that. Keep the comments and kudos coming!

**Author's Note:**

> Just another idea! Find me on Tumblr @grantwrd!


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